What is evidence-based treatment in psychotherapy? Isn't therapy just pretty much listening and nodding? Not quite! Read the pieces here to learn more about the ways in which science informs mental health treatment.
For those persons suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), there are effective ways to get help. In fact, research has shown two treatments for OCD to be quite effective in reducing symptoms: 1) Exposure and response prevention therapy (also known as ERP), and 2) psychotropic medication. Which is better?
[Read more…]Are antidepressants really just placebos? This is the provocative question posed by some recent research and journalism. The answer is not what you’d think for a medication with $14 billion in annual U.S. sales taken by 17 million Americans.
On January 29th there appeared a well researched and well written piece in Newsweek on the effectiveness of antidepressants. The article, by Sharon Begley, explains some important aspects of the process by which pharmaceutical agents are brought to market and are prescribed.
Most people closely associate medicine and science, but how many of us think of science and psychotherapy as being related? Maybe we don’t, but we should. The best therapy is science-based.
[Read more…]For people suffering from OCD, it can be hard to find helpful counseling. Being an informed consumer can make all the difference.
It is common for people who think they might have OCD to say, “I’d better see someone,” and go to see a psychotherapist. So far, so good. However, there are different types of therapy for OCD, and evidence suggests that some work better than others. Many people who seek help for obsessions or compulsions with a psychotherapist find that sometimes, after months or years of therapy, their symptoms are still a problem. There can be many possible reasons for this.
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