Posted by Racer on December 14, 2008, at 13:43:45
http://www.physorg.com/news147336598.html
This is an article about a psychotherapeutic intervention trial, comparing it to maintenance medications for preventing relapse in depression. I thought it might be interesting for a lot of people here.
Two things I'd like to point out from the beginning:
1. At no point does this article suggest that this treatment is as effective as medication for treating an active depressive episode. It only says that it performed well -- outperformed meds, actually -- at the end of 15 months IN PREVENTING RELAPSE.
2. The article also notes that the study subjects from the experimental group reported improved quality of life. That's a subjective report -- and I know I would far rather experience a subjective improvement in quality of life than a coldly objective rating by an outside observer.
I frankly proclaim my own bias: I believe that psychotherapy is beneficial for many people. I believe that there are things many of us can do behaviorally which will improve our long term experience of quality of life. I also believe, very strongly, that medications are necessary for most people who experience a moderate to severe depressive episode. My own personal pet theory is that behavioral efforts improve subjective quality of life partly by helping combat feelings of helplessness. If we feel that we can have a positive impact on our lives, we feel a little more powerful, and that certainly improves my sense of my QoL.
I thought others might be interested in this, too. It might be helpful for someone -- especially those in the UK who may not have access to an individual psychotherapist, but still want psychological treatment.
Peace.
poster:Racer
thread:868747
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20081214/msgs/868747.html