Posted by Ilene on August 9, 2005, at 13:36:48
I don't hang on this board, because I'm not seeing a therapist, but I found a couple of newspaper articles I thought I'd share.
The first one is from the Wall Street Journal 8/9/05, p. B1--"For Mild Depression, Some U.K. Doctors Prescribe Reading" by Jeanne Whalen. This describes a new program in more than a dozen counties across the UK. When some doctors see a patient w/ mild to moderate depression or anxiety, they prescribe a self-help book. They began prescribing books out of concern that too many depressed people were either being medicated too hastily with antidepressant drugs or going untreated. Also, the waiting lists for one-to-one counseling can run up to 18 months.
The other one is in the New York Times, 8/9/05, p. D7--"Talk Therapy Succeeds In Reducing Suicide Risk" by Benedict Carey. This article is about a study published in the Aug. 3 issue of JAMA which is the largest and most rigorous test of a psychotherapy technique (cognitive therapy) in people whose attempts to end their lives have been serious enought to land them in hospitals. This is a group of people who are usually excluded from studies of depression treatments. These patients had multiple problems, incuding drug addiction, depression, and homelessness. The course of therapy was 8 to 10 sessions. Suicide attempts were cut almost in half in the treated group in a year and a half. Researchers are also working with people diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, but the therapy is long term, typically lasting a year or more.
poster:Ilene
thread:539627
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050801/msgs/539627.html