Posted by Simcha on December 1, 2005, at 12:44:00
In reply to Forever meds, posted by antigua on November 29, 2005, at 15:33:56
Yes, I've been told the same thing, that I need medication for life, most likely. I've had too many major depressive episodes. Med changes always rock my world. My family of origin exhibits classic signs that mental illness is genetic and organic for us. I did therapy for ten years with some success. But nothing has been like the experience of taking medications AND being in therapy.
Maybe I'm biased because I just graduated with a masters in counseling psychology and I'm in training to be a psychotherapist. And I know from experience that medication and therapy works better for depression than either treatment alone.
To argue that changing a person's behavior and thought patterns is difficult and thus talk therapy doesn't work does not make for a cogent arguement. Cancer is very difficult to treat and most often kills. Yet chemotherapy, radiation, and other treatments halt or even reverse cancer, even if for a short time. Would you not use cancer treatment due to the difficulty of fighting cancer for someone who has cancer?
I compare mental illness to cancer because it can be deadly. Mental illness is often progressive. Talk therapy and medication have both proven effective for arresting and treating mental illness.
Now, as for the arguement that talk therapy does not change brain chemistry, I'd like to add more recent findings that I can find on the Internet if it's wanted. Recently, behaviorists have shown that our brains develop and change due to experience in the world. This means that experience develops the brain. If so, then chemical balance changes with development. We are talking about biological development.
There is a famous study done on Romanian orphans. These orphans were not touched, handled, or given much in the way of stimulation. Upon examination, researchers took note that their brains were underdeveloped and smaller than they should be. Once these orphans were in situations where they received stimuli their brains developed and grew.
It has been shown that adult brains can develop and grow new cells too. And it has been shown that experience can have effects on the structure and chemistry of the adult brain. Thus going to see a therapist is an experience. If it is a positive, corrective, experience then we see positive changes in brain structure and chemistry. So, in actuality, talk-therapy can be seen as a drug. The experience of talk-therapy has been shown to have lasting effects on neurochemistry.
In light of all of this, it is very important to seek well-trained and knowledgeable therapists who have a proven track record. If talk-therapy has the power to change the brain structure and brain chemistry then therapists can cause great harm to a client.
As a therapist, I'm not a "buddy" to my clients. It is a professional relationship. I encourage my clients to have friendships, romances, etc. because intimacy helps end isolation. It gives the client good experiences that can transform their lives. I do have therapeutic relationships with clients. That means that I do work from a relational model. The relationship I have with a client is "corrective." By engaging in a "corrective" relationship with me, I'm conditioning my clients to have better relationships in the world at large.
As a therapist, when I see that talk-therapy alone is not helping a client to be in remission, I will suggest that the client go to a psychiatrist for an evaluation. I have found that when clients who need medicatgion get on medication, it allows them to do the work that is required in a psychotherapeutic context. It's like a veil has been lifted. And for some of these clients, the organic/genetic/biological component is so ingrained that medications and talk-therapy is recommended for the forseeable future.
Simcha
poster:Simcha
thread:583389
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20051126/msgs/584212.html