Phone Therapy Helps Depression

prevention.com: "Less than a third of people with depression get adequate treatment, often because they have trouble adjusting to medications or they have too little time for psychotherapy.

In the August 25, 2004 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers reported on a study in which they evaluated if telephone interventions could improve the treatment for depression.

One intervention consisted of the usual primary care for depression plus care management designed to help patients adjust to using antidepressants. The second intervention included eight cognitive-behavioral therapy sessions in addition to care management and the usual primary care.

After 6 months of treatment, patients assigned to get psychotherapy plus care management had significantly lower depression scores, greater subjective improvements in their depression symptoms, and greater satisfaction with their treatment than people who just got the usual primary care for depression. The effects of care management on subjective improvement and satisfaction were smaller, and there were no significant improvements in depression scores in that group. "

Phone Therapy is available at the Center of Revitalizing Psychiatry