Therapy A Better Alternative To Drugs, Say Government Ministers

The debate about the effectiveness of anti-depressant drugs has again hit the headlines in the last few days.

Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, has announced that 3,600 therapists are to be trained during the next three years in England to increase patient access to talking therapies, which ministers see as a better alternative to drugs.

This follows news that a team of researchers at Hull University concluded that new generation anti-depressants have little clinical benefit in all but the most severe cases of depression - findings which have been disputed by the makers of Prozac and Seroxat.

Whatever the ‘pros and cons’ of the debate there is no doubt that a large number of people visiting their GPs with emotional problems end up being prescribed anti-depressant medication.

In 2006 the number of prescriptions for anti-depressants in England hit a record high of more than 31 million.

Not surprisingly, at Aspire we encounter a significant number of clients who have been prescribed anti-depressants – often they have been taking them for a considerable amount of time.

The Placebo Effect

We would never suggest that they stop taking this medication, which should only be withdrawn under the supervision of their GP. In most cases the drugs should not interfere with the programme of treatment we offer.

A lot of people, however, prefer to find a way through emotional problems which relies upon their own resources rather pharmaceutical solutions. Sometimes that is why they have turned to hypnotherapy.

The situation with anti-depressant drugs is complicated by the placebo effect. As pointed out in a BBC report this week, researchers acknowledge that many people believe drugs do work for them, but argue that the beneficial effect could be a result of them simply thinking medication will help them.

For patients with mild depression, a ‘dummy’ sugar-coated pill was found to have exactly the same result.

Positive Lesson

The positive lesson to be drawn from these findings, is that maybe those who take anti-depressants are in fact curing themselves. This is also one of the first messages we seek to get across in therapy.

One of the our initial aims in treating a client is to get them to take responsibility for the problem they are experiencing.

This may sound tough, but the aim is to get them to realise that if they are in some sense creating their own condition then they can also put it right.

By this means we are inviting them to take control of their mind and body, rather than placing themselves under the control of an external agency such as a tablet.