Key Takeaways

Talk therapy can alter brain structurePeople experienced brain changes while undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy for depressionThe changes occurred in brain regions that regulate emotion

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 27, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Talk therapy has the power to alter a person’s physical brain structure, a new study shows.

Psychotherapy caused measurable changes in the brains of people with severe depression , MRI scans revealed.

Specifically, most patients experienced growth in brain regions responsible for processing emotions, researchers reported Aug. 26 in the journal Translational Psychology .

The brain changes were similar to those produced by psychiatric medication, researchers said.

“For the first time, we have a reliable biomarker for the effect of psycho

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