The Magic of Talking Therapy

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Psychotherapy is a difficult sell. As a therapist, I am asking my clients to pay for talking to me. When they leave, they leave empty-handed - no prescription, no gifts, no immediate change in their looks or behavior. For many, I am asking them to believe in magic.

I believe in the magic of talking therapy! I know from personal experience and the results of my work that lives are changed as a result of talking to a therapist. But what is the magic source of this change? Here are some examples:

1. When someone listens to you they are saying, "You are worth my time, my attention, and my caring". It is an expression of your worth for someone to listen to you. As a therapist, I listen to the words and search for the meaning sometimes hidden beneath the words. But just as important, I am telling my client, "You have worth."
2. Feelings expressed are more easily managed. There is magic in sharing one's feelings. We all have fears, insecurities, and self-doubts that dwell within us. These feelings can weaken us as tensions and anxieties grow. When we share these feelings, we find that these feelings simply make us human.
   
3. I suspect that most of my clients expect me to offer them nuggets of wisdom that will change their lives. Yet, one magical aspect of therapy is that it acts like a mirror. Talking to someone who accepts you allows you to change your focus off trying to please the therapist and, in the process, leads you to listen to yourself. Listening to yourself talk about yourself is magical. A brief glance in the mirror typically reveals little, but a longer gaze reveals more. The magic of the mirror is that it can reveal the beauty in the eyes even when there are wrinkles around the eyes.

The magic of psychotherapy only reveals itself over time. For some, the relationship builds quickly, but for others it takes many weeks before the relationship gains the special qualities that create magical outcomes.

Antidepressants Got You Down?

I found this fascinating quote today:

"The chemical imbalance theory, which was formulated in the 1960s, was based on the observation that mood could be artificially altered with drugs, rather than direct observation of any chemical imbalances," Leo said. "Since then there has been no direct evidence to confirm the theory and a significant number of findings cast doubt on the theory."

The researchers said the popularity of the theory is in large part based on the presumed efficacy of the SSRIs, but they say that several large studies now cast doubt on this efficacy.

A review of a full set of trial data published in the journal PLoS (Public Library of Science) Medicine last month concluded that much of the perceived efficacy of several of the most common SSRIs was due to the placebo effect.

Other studies indicate that for every 10 people who take an SSRI, only one to two people are truly receiving benefit from the medication, according to Lacasse and Leo.

Still, the National Center for Health Statistics found that antidepressants are the most prescribed drugs in the United States, with doctors writing more than 31 million prescriptions in 2005.

Both Lacasse and Leo emphasized the importance of patients being given factual information so they can make informed decisions about medications and the role of other potentially useful interventions, such as psychotherapy, exercise or self-help strategies.

"Patients might make different choices about the use of medications and possibly use alternative approaches to their distress if they were fully informed," Lacasse said.

"We believe the media can play a positive role by ensuring that their mental health reporting is congruent with scientific literature."

Ψ Dare To Dream..., Mar 2009

You should read the whole article.

So Much To Do: I Want To Go To Bed

You look around and see others being so productive. They seem to go to work, keep an immaculate home, read the latest bestseller, and still have time to go to the gym three days a week. Yet, you are overwhelmed trying to get out of bed, take a shower and get to work.

You compare yourself to others and conclude that you fall short. You must do more to measure up to what is expected! You resolve to set goals to improve your performance. You resolve to change your diet, your exercise, your use of free time...the list goes on.

Perhaps for a day or two you find that you have a burst of energy and are making progress, but then the bubble bursts. You find yourself sitting unable to muster the energy to tackle your goals. Is the problem that you are inferior to others? No!

It is important to know that you can improve and meet goals, but you must also recognize that a mood disorder makes achieving these goals more difficult. You must set smaller, more easily achieved goals. You can still aim high, but must be careful to take small steps.

As you set goals, ask yourself these questions:

1. Is my goal achievalble in a brief period of time?
2. Can I break this goal down into several more easily achievable goals?
3. Does this goal make an unreasonable demand on my time, energy, or skills?
4. Can I honestly predict a 75% chance of success for this goal?
5. Have I set a reasonable measure for success.
6. Can I tolerate falling short in my effort?
   

What Makes Depressed Folks Different?

Thursday, Mar 19 (Psych Centralhttp://psychcentral.com/news/2009/03/19/depressed-individuals-miss-out-on-good-things-in-life/4837.html) --

While depression is often linked to negative thoughts and emotions, a new study suggests the real problem may be a failure to appreciate positive experiences.

Researchers at Ohio State University found that depressed and nondepressed people were about equal in their ability to learn negative information that was presented to them.

But depressed people weren’t nearly as successful at learning positive information as were their non-depressed counterparts.

“Since depression is characterized by negative thinking, it is easy to assume that depressed people learn the negative lessons of life better than nondepressed people – but that’s not true,” said Laren Conklin, co-author of the study and a graduate student in psychology at Ohio State.

Drug Company Scandal

It may not be as big a scandal as Madoff's ponzi scheme, but it has affected many more people and involves more money.

A recent journal article paper by Eric Turner and others in the New England Journal of Medicine titled "Selective Publication of Antidepressant Trials and Its Influence on Apparent Efficacy," showed that drug companies were inflating claims of efficacy by not publishing all the results of the studies done on antidepressant medications.

Instead of 94% of the studies demonstrating effectiveness for the drugs, the rate is closer to 51%. This means that the consumer's doctor is mislead to believe that the drugs he or she is prescribing are more effective than they actually are. The doctor, in turn, sets unrealistic expectations for the patient receiving the medication. When the patient fails to respond, then the patient feels hopeless because he or she has been led to expect that everyone else is benefiting from the medication.

Such disappointment can, in turn, lead to greater self-doubt, hopelessness and a loss of motivation to battle the depression. Madoff will be held accountable for his behavior and will likely spend time in jail. What is the consequence when drug companies inflate the efficacy of their medicine?

How Your Mood Effects Decision-making

My wife would frequently tell our daughters, "Make good decisions." Teenagers are prone to making decisions based on momentary feelings without considering future consequences of the decision.

Your mood can also interfere with making good decisions. Typically, we tend to be optimistic, believing that we are liked by others and that the future bodes well. Depression alters our tendency to be optimistic.

Depression leads to negative predictions about the future when you don't know the outcome. For instance, if someone asks you to go to a party, you may decide not to go because you believe that you won't enjoy it. In reality, you would have to go to the party to determine whether you would enjoy it, but your prediction causes you to remain at home.

Another example would be that you are invited to a party and you decide not to go because you believe that others would not like you or, worse, you would cause others at the party to become depressed if they were exposed to you.

Negative predictions can feel safe. By making a negative prediction, you are emotionally girding yourself against being disappointed. But the party example also demonstrates a risk. If you go to the party, you may find that you have a good time, you may connect with someone and become friends...magic can happen if we interact with others. By staying home you limit the risk of disappointment, but also limit your pleasure and an opportunity to improve your mood.

Going to a party is only one, perhaps minor example of how decision-making can change when you are depressed or anxious. To check your decision-making, ask yourself the following:

• Are my beliefs about this situation supported by facts or simply represent my feelings.
• Am I able to make a prediction about a future event based on the information available to me?
• Am I making assumptions about others' thoughts about me without knowing what they are thinking?
• Am I limiting the possible outcomes this situation could produce?
• Am I accurately assessing my ability to tolerate a negative outcome?

Our lives will be more pleasurable if we take risks, connect with others and move forward toward goals for self-improvement. Don't let negative predictions diminish you future.

Things not the Source of Happiness

Happiness Study: Imagine No Possessions

United Press International 2009-02-09

Using money to achieve life experiences -- like eating out -- rather than material possessions leads to greater happiness, U.S. researchers found.

Ryan Howell of San Francisco State University said the study demonstrates experiential purchases result in increased well-being because they satisfy higher order needs, specifically the need for social connectedness and vitality -- a feeling of being alive. "Purchased experiences provide memory capital -- we don't tend to get bored of happy memories like we do with a material object."

Howell said study participants were asked to write reflections and answer questions about their recent purchases. Participants indicated that experiential purchases represented money better spent and greater happiness for both themselves and others.

The results also indicate that experiences produce more happiness regardless of the amount spent or the income of the consumer, Howell said.

The findings were presented at the Society for Personality and Social Psychology annual meeting in Tampa, Fla.

This study reminds us that we can foster happiness through a variety of experiences that do not require financial expense. Think of some activities that you could do that might benefit your mood.