Despite a large increase in cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) doctors are still pushing drugs at patients, according to Dr Jennifer Wild, a senior lecturer at the Institute of Psychiatry.
In this week's Scrubbing Up, she argues that GPs need to understand that psychological therapies like CBT work and should choose to offer them.
People with depression often get better when they change the way they think.
Since therapy is more likely to achieve this with longer-lasting results than drugs, doctors need to stop pushing pills and start pushing treatments that work.
Depressed people feel low, worthless, and often suicidal. They need treatment.
Six million people suffer from depression and anxiety in the UK, and surveys show that most do not want to take drugs.
They want a treatment with long-lasting results.
READ MORE @ BBC NEWS"
'Distorted thinking'
This treatment is cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
CBT is based on a well-supported theory of how depression starts and what keeps it going: distorted thinking patterns.
Change people's thoughts and recovery occurs.
Showing posts with label cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). Show all posts
Showing posts with label cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). Show all posts
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
In praise of 'electroshock'
What does it feel like to be profoundly depressed?
“Sometimes you feel like your head is going to explode,” Richard Braudo explains. “There were times I was so depressed, I was comatose. You can reach the point where you don't want to live – the pain is too much.”
Mr. Braudo knows. His diagnosis: treatment-resistant bipolar affective disorder.
The Toronto lawyer and management consultant has survived 30 bouts of severe depression, each lasting many months, not to mention a couple of suicide attempts.
But, at the age of 55, he has finally achieved “stable wellness.”
Mr. Braudo credits electroconvulsive therapy for his recovery. He has undergone 10 courses of ECT since 1991, the last about 18 months ago – the longest period, by far, in his adult life that he has gone without a bout of depression.
He has chosen to tell his story to help counter the negative public image of ECT as barbaric and painful and to underscore that prescription drugs are not the be-all and end-all for people with psychiatric illnesses.
READ MORE @ GLOBE AND MAIL
“Sometimes you feel like your head is going to explode,” Richard Braudo explains. “There were times I was so depressed, I was comatose. You can reach the point where you don't want to live – the pain is too much.”
Mr. Braudo knows. His diagnosis: treatment-resistant bipolar affective disorder.
The Toronto lawyer and management consultant has survived 30 bouts of severe depression, each lasting many months, not to mention a couple of suicide attempts.
But, at the age of 55, he has finally achieved “stable wellness.”
Mr. Braudo credits electroconvulsive therapy for his recovery. He has undergone 10 courses of ECT since 1991, the last about 18 months ago – the longest period, by far, in his adult life that he has gone without a bout of depression.
He has chosen to tell his story to help counter the negative public image of ECT as barbaric and painful and to underscore that prescription drugs are not the be-all and end-all for people with psychiatric illnesses.
READ MORE @ GLOBE AND MAIL
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