People suffering from depression benefits from talk therapy
Thursday, January 20th, 2011
People suffering from depression for quite some time may actually benefit from receiving talk therapy when treatment like antidepressants is not working.
In the United States alone, 15 million people suffer from some form of depression every year according to the National Institute for Mental Health. Most of this patients are treated with drugs rather than being guided through talk therapies. About 50% of this population does not improve even with regular intake of anti-depressants.
Instead of the usual approach of switching to other anti-depressants if the first attempt does not work, the proponents of the study evaluated the effects of talk therapy to these people suffering from major depression.
A randomized trial was done with subjects randomly chosen to receive only anti-depressants and another group taking medicine in combination with talk therapy. The results reveal that talk therapy patients improved significantly compared to those who were only taking medicines.
The study also pointed out that not all people can get access to talk therapy because of the price. Taking prescribed anti-depressants is a lot cheaper compared to receiving talk therapy. Monthly averages for fluoxetine only cost $19, sertraline goes for $26, while citalopram costs $35. In the short term, talk therapy would cost more. Another issue will be the lack of insurance coverage that does not have a tight belt on receiving sufficient help for a better mental health.
In the long-term, talk therapy is really worth the dollars. Talk therapies may only last for several months while those who benefit from anti-depressant drugs may need to take them for a life time.