Interesting Abstract About Online Counseling

Medscape Medical News from the • American Psychiatric Association (APA) 2015 Annual Meeting This coverage is not sanctioned by, nor a part of, the American Psychiatric Association. Medscape Psychiatry An Internet Depression Therapy as Effective as Drugs? Bret S. Stetka, MD; Jan Philipp Klein, MD Editor's Note: While browsing a poster session at the American Psychiatric Association's 168th Annual Meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Medscape spoke with Dr Jan Philipp Klein of the Lübeck University (Lübeck, Germany) Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy about the efficacy of a new Internet-based depression therapy. Medscape: What was the objective of your study[1]? Dr Klein: We were interested in studying Internet-based psychological interventions for depression, in part due to the large treatment gap associated with the condition. Many patients don't get adequate treatment for depression. Prior to starting the study we knew that there is an evidence base for psychological Internet interventions in treating depressive symptoms. However, in previous studies, the sample size was much smaller, and depressive symptoms were only self-rated. This was the first study to also include clinician ratings over time. Medscape: How big was the study? Dr Klein: We recruited over 1000 participants with mild to moderate depressive symptoms, and...

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DEPRESSION, WHAT IT IS, WHAT NOT TO SAY TO SOMEONE WHO HAS IT

Here is a link to a blog article about depression and what well intentioned people shouldn't say to anyone who is depressed. The interesting thing about what not to say is that most people will be tempted to say at least one of the eleven listed because they seem so, well, helpful or distracting or humorous. None of these eleven statements are helpful to people suffering from depression. Depression can be situational or a person may have a genetic predisposition for depression and, in either case, there are better things to do. For one, encouraging a depressed person to share with you what they're feeling then listening and responding with empathic statements like, "It sounds like you're having a hard time right now," or "Tell me how you're feeling so I can try to understand." Taking the time to listen without comparing what they're saying to what you feel or your Aunt Gertrude feels can be very comforting and even helpful to a depressed person. Here's the link to what not to say: www.medicalbillingandcoding.org/blog/11-things-you-should-never-say-to-someone-with-depression  

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COMPLIMENTS ARE GOOD

I know. That seems obvious to anyone who is awake. Hold on there. Think about it. When was the last time you complimented your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife? Girlfriends compliment each other regularly, a lot. That’s part of being a girlfriend. People in other relationships, not so much. When was the last time your partner complimented you? I began thinking about this at the end of my “Tuesdays with grandchildren day” today. Every Tuesday I load up the car and take the youngest grandchildren to the movies or swimming or on a picnic, something to put some grandmother memories into them. As they get older, grandchildren have better things to do than hang out with grandma, especially once they have a drivers license. Fortunately I’ve had a steady stream of young grandchildren for the past twenty-five years so I’ve had the pleasure of seeing a lot of cartoon movies. This afternoon a little voice piped up from the back seat, “Oma, do you know you’re pretty?” Nine year old Logan was either looking for an ice cream before being delivered back home or he’s a natural and he’ll do well in relationships, probably the former but it did make...

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YOU DESERVE

“you deserve flowers on your doorstep and coffee in the morning you deserve notes left on your dashboard and ice cream sundaes at 3am you deserve honesty every day and to be kissed every hour you deserve to be reminded how beautiful you are” --anonymous Came across this and thought about all of the couples I’ve worked with who did these things for each other when they first met and fell in love. This period is called the “honeymoon” period or the “infatuation” period and doesn’t have to go away. It generally goes away when a baby arrives or shortly after or the couple has been married longer than two years even without children or there’s some sort of family crisis, illness or death in the family or there’s financial hardship. Every event in the list above is stressful. And these are the times when one or both of the partners begins to believe the other doesn’t love them or loves them but isn’t interested in what’s going on with them or says they’re interested but never comes up with any ideas for something fun to do or works late and doesn’t help out much at home and so on....

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