{"id":3489,"date":"2016-03-09T14:23:32","date_gmt":"2016-03-09T19:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tambulimedia.com\/?p=3489"},"modified":"2023-07-24T15:01:46","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T19:01:46","slug":"psychotherapy-less-effective-than-reported","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tambulimedia.com\/psychotherapy-less-effective-than-reported\/","title":{"rendered":"Psychotherapy Less Effective Than Reported"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s an old joke in the movie, \u201cAnnie Hall,\u201d where the character Alvy Singer is having a meal with Annie\u2019s family. Mom Hall says, \u201cAnn tells us that you\u2019ve been seeing a psychiatrist for fifteen years.\u201d Alvy responds, jokingly, \u201cYes. I\u2019m making excellent progress. Pretty soon when I lie down on his couch, I won\u2019t have to wear the lobster bib.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

That was one of those classic movie lines. But as it turns out, it\u2019s no joke. Talk therapy just does not work as well as they\u2019d hoped back in the 70s and now in 2015 researchers have uncovered that\u2014for depression at least\u2014it is actually 25 percent less effective than reported.<\/span><\/p>\n

Biased journal reporting<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

How can this be when studies in peer-reviewed journals report on the effectiveness of talk therapy for depression? Well, the studies with positive results have been overstated in the journals because the studies with poor results, or no results for talk therapy, have not made it to press.<\/span><\/p>\n

This, of course, has created a bias in favor of the effectiveness of talk therapy. This is important because those who suffer depression and rely on talk therapy for treatment, are finding it\u2019s not working for them as well as expected, which can cause further depression and even despair.<\/span><\/p>\n

Researchers have come to know that the effectiveness of antidepressants has been overestimated, also due to publication bias, but this has only been inferred statistically with regard to psychological treatment for depression. So they sought to see if the same were true for talk therapy.<\/span><\/p>\n

New study uncovers truth<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

A research team led by Ellen Driessen of VU University in Amsterdam conducted asystematic review and meta-analysis<\/a> of US National Institutes of Health-funded trials conducted between 1972 and 2008. They \u201cassessed directly the extent of study publication bias in trials examining the efficacy of psychological treatment for depression.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

They uncovered 55 funded grants that began trials but did not publish results and requested the data from the researchers. The results showed that talk therapies, like cognitive behavior therapy and interpersonal therapy\u2014while effective\u2014were indeed less effective than previous believed. \u201cAmong comparisons to control conditions, adding unpublished studies to published studies reduced the psychotherapy effect size point estimate by 25%.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So while drug therapy and talk therapy do indeed help patients suffering depression, they are less effective as previously believed and are best used in conjunction with each other and additional methods.<\/span><\/p>\n

Supplements can help milder depression<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

Taking natural supplements can also help with depression. My colleague here at Easy Health Options, Dr. Michael Cutler, offered some advice in another<\/a> article. He says that while supplements have not been well-studied for depression, some have been reported to work to a certain extent for mild cases of depression. These include:<\/span><\/p>\n