+1 It really does help to know that you are not the only one feeling like this.

This is more important that the profession, the model of therapy or any other factor by a…

That is a really interesting query Isabel-
Anybody know any stats for this?
All I know from family experience, that it SO much easier for the 2nd person…

Being on antidepressants is much easier to hide than having to take time off for lengthy counselling appointments, so it…

I should have clicked through :(.

But I'll offer this article in compensation, where unlike the placebo effect people have found at least one biochemical mechanism for the nocebo effect.

It is a profoundly interesting effect. It's possible that talking therapy might just in fact be a very very good placebo effect – which would kind of make it a really good treatment really.

BTW there is also something called the nocebo effect -…

It is worth noting two things about this. Placebo's do work. And importantly, the more complex the placebo, the better it works.…

This study (paywalled) found that monthly sessions of 'behavioural activation therapy' is as effective than drugs in the…

I'm lucky to have had really good parents in the sense they had good genes. They both suffered badly through WWII and so were less able to teach some social skills but hell they gave me good genes. I'm fit(ish), mostly…

Well, that's bloody good news!

This has been my response right across the board in New Zealand – at the doctor, from the depression hotline and from the mental health crisis team. And…

And then there's also ACC counselling. Debriefing for victims of sexual abuse and trauma. Down from 16 sessions to four. How on earth is that anywhere near enough time to work…

I've been severely depressed for many years and go through massive ups and downs.

After taking a variety of SSRIs, none of which seemed to work, I was offered six free Cognitive Behavioural Therapy sessions about three years ago. The CBT went well and I…

I have sat in a counsellor's office and been told, "Because you have said that, I can't let you leave until you've made a safety plan," while I protested that I…

yes, and lobby future governments to invest properly in this.

And for government agencies, let's not forget. Judith Collins has some explaining to do.

If the government gets away with behaving like a corporate insurer, other public agencies are bound to follow suit under…

When a combination of my father's death, issues at work and mid-life threw me into depression I was lucky enough to have good medical insurance and a good GP. We talked about it, he offered either talking therapy…

When I was seen for panic attacks by my GP I was offered the choice of medication or free talk therapy sessions (through the liaison service that Ian refers to). I took the talk therapy and, when I did not improve, was…

My daughter is a counsellor who works for an NGO which specialises in supporting children and families, particularly…

Pegasus Health in Chchch offers an excellent Mental Health GP Liaison service, offering 5 sessions of free psych support over a 12 month period with a GP referral.
Perhaps someone should tell Sovereign that this health provider says:
In any one year around 20 percent…

And everyone else for sharing what must be very personal and difficult stories to tell.

The article doesn't mention it, but would this include counseling for someone diagnosed with a terminal illness, or their family? That would seem to be a huge area where talk therapy is…

That was when she was on citalopram...she developed hyponaetremia due to a change in dose...

good people all -I think we are all agreed that whatever helps is what we need, and there is…

this whole thing just destroys my brain a little. I can truly say without both medication and therapy i wouldn't be able to even leave the house., or even attempt to do the teeny tiny amounts of work i do.…

The relationship counselling I had through Family Court did not officially result in “reconciliation”, but it resulted in mutual understanding after a huge amount of distress and misunderstanding.…

The world of insurance is a largely heartless, bottom line driven industry. What they can get way with, largely they will.

How did they manage to miss the piles of research that is behind the recommendations of groups like the NHS? Mild to moderate depression = talk therapy. It's the standard of treatment, and antidepressants aren't supposed to be initiated unless…

The country's biggest income protection insurer, Sovereign, says claims for depression have reached a crippling 40 per cent and the cost of counsellors it sends clients to "out of the goodness of our hearts" can't be…

Yes, it does. But not compared to the cost of not finding the right combination of treatments for the particular person who is right there in front of you.

None of the three times I've been put on SSRIs was counselling even mentioned.