Controlled human clinical studies have shown that supplementing fish oil can benefit all of the following conditions/ disorders in the area of psychiatry;

• Depressive disorders (bipolar depression, major depressive disorder)
• ADD/ ADHD
• Anxiety
• Aggression
• Autism
• Epilepsy
• Anorexia
• Amnesia
• Self harm
• Schizophrenia

Studies in the area of psychiatry allow for some very important insights to be made with regards to comparing the effects of EPA and DHA (the active ingredients in fish oil). The majority of studies in the area use oils much higher in EPA than DHA. Many of the papers in fact use 100% EPA with no DHA present.  

Interestingly, studies which fail to show significant benefit in the area of psychiatry use oils which deliver large amounts of DHA with EPA. DHA is extremely important in pregnancy and newborn infants (see discussion of fish oil in pregnancy below) but does not seem to deliver benefit to mood and behavior. Higher EPA oils appear to effectively treat adult depression and childhood disorders of mood and behavior. Oils high in DHA typically fail to benefit these same conditions.