Can This Possibly Be Effective And Is This The Way Of The Future?
Question: Psychological treatment for depression, delivered over the internet, is reliable and effective, according to the results of research published recently in the British Journal of Psychiatry. The moodgym at Australia's National University is also providing CBT over the internet for preventing depression. Can this possibly be effective and is this the way of the future?
Answer (1) Though CBT is undoubtedly the flavour of the month, many who are not zealots, are beginning to see that just like so many other claimed universal panaceas that have arisen and eventually faded, it is just another techique that is effective with some people, for some problems, some of the time. CBT is not really new, has not cured the world of it's psychological ills and will I feel, eventually be seen for what it is, namely just another tool in the armament, without all the present hype. CBT is a relatively short term technique, which largley ignores the importance of the relationship between client and therapist and instead, basically concentrates attention on manipulating thinking patterns, in order to better control resultant emotions. They claim that this can be done without any particular reference to or understanding of, how these patterns of thinking came about, what they mean and how they interact with each other. Despite many claims to the contrary by it's devotees, I have never personally seen any deeply disturbed person "cured" by CBT alone. That said, CBT or any other technique for that matter, delivered anonymously over the net, becomes even more sterile, faceless and bereft of humanity and emotional content. I do not see that this as the way of the future but I'm sure people will try and sell it as a cheaper, overhead free alternative to the real thing. It will doubtless be used and abused and eventually fall out of favour.
Answer provided by David White, Psychotherapist
Answer (2) Thank you for this information. I have not seen the article but imagine we will hear more on radio and television health and science programs. Yours is a question that will be debated in years to come. I would imagine that delivering some treatments or aspects of a response to depression and other mental health matters by internet will become more commonly used. It will never replace face to face counselling. There will always be people and situations requiring a face-to-face conversation. If it does not already occur, I suspect that counselling services will be offered to remote area clients by video link. The technology exists and is used for medical consults. CBT is itself an important element of therapy for a range of mental health issues. Interestingly, medication affects a different area of the brain to CBT and the effects of medication can reduce over time. In contrast, MRI scans have shown that the learnings involved in CBT training light up the cerebral cortex and make permanent changes. So, CBT sounds like it will grow.
Answer provided by John Hunter, Counsellor
Answer (3) Were you thinking of Kurt Vonnegut who turned 83 on Nov 11th when you posted your question? His famous quote, 'Anyone who believes in telekinesis, raise my hand.' could well answer your question about CBT and depression. Big pharmaceutical companies have long hoped to show the effectiveness of their anti-depressant drugs by eliminating from their trials any subjects who have any other condition than a very specifically defined depression. CBT trials on the web are probably on the same tack. The rest of us I'm afraid have the usual range of fragility and madness with our depression like social isolation, poverty, malnutrition, history of child abuse or of bullying at school or at work, the presence of industrial chemicals in our tissues, affluenza, etc. which neither CBT nor drugs alone will fix. In Roy Porter's Madness: A Brief History there is plenty of evidence of the wisdom of which David writes above. However, if you think of CBT as just a method of taming the mind and training it to think about itself - about emotion, mood, thought, sensation and the actions or inactions that these co-create, then it is a universally useful tool in managing the biggest territorial and sex organ of them all - our brain. And nothing new to centuries old Humanism or millenia old Buddhism. Labelling this stuff CBT and depression is another example of the 'ship of fools' behaviour of the professions securing there net territory against the ravages of time and place. Moodgym to it's great credit is free.
Answer provided by Peter Fox, Clinical Psychologist
