Phone In Your Depression
Despite the demonstrated effectiveness of many conventional and alternative treatments for depression, many depressed people do not receive effective courses of antidepressant drugs or psychotherapy... much less alternative treatments.
About 40 percent of people taking antidepressants stop taking them during their first month of therapy. Only about one-third of people with depression ever seek psychotherapy and only half of those who go to more than four sessions. About one-quarter stop going after one session.
Of course many people are simply not diagnosed, much less treated. But for those who have been diagnosed and are seeking treatment, why not seek help over the phone?
The Journal of the American Medical Association reported that a randomized trial of 600 patients was designed to test the effects of telephone psychotherapy. The effects of conventional care alone were compared to conventional care plus a telephone care management program with or without telephone psychotherapy.
The telephone psychotherapy group showed the greatest improvement in depression score and patient satisfaction.
The study, at Group Health in Seattle, found that 55 percent of people reported their symptoms were "much improved" after they started taking antidepressant medication. But when eight sessions of telephone therapy were added, 80 percent reported feeling significantly better.
Bottom line: a little telephone therapy can be a powerful adjunct to other depression treatments.
Author:
William Prescott is a health researcher and author. |
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