Counselling effective in treating depression and anxiety

Counselling is an effective treatment for depression and anxiety within a primary care setting, with 66 per cent of clients achieving a clinical recovery within an average of six sessions. This is the key finding of research conducted by Elizabeth Freire of the University of Strathclyde and Kevin McGeever of the Lanarkshire Counselling Service, which was presented at the 16th Annual BACP Research Conference last month.

Participants in the study were assessed at the beginning and end of counselling. The results showed that reductions in levels of psychological distress from pre- to post-counselling were large, reliable and clinically significant. The research also compared the improvement that clients achieved during counselling with the improvement they achieved while just waiting for counselling (on average, clients waited for 11 weeks before starting counselling).

The results showed that whereas clients’ mental health improved significantly with counselling, no significant improvement was achieved during the waiting period.

A total of 584 clients with common mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety, participated in this evaluation, carried out across 65 GP practices in West Scotland over the course of a year. Ninety per cent of those participants were experiencing clinical levels of anxiety and 74 per cent were experiencing clinical levels of depression at the initial screening. Clients were offered person-centred counselling or some integrative modality based on person-centred principles of counselling.

Elizabeth Freire said: ‘This research demonstrates that counselling, and more specifically the person-centred modality of counselling, is an effective and valuable choice for primary care patients. Our results show that counselling is an effective form of treatment for depression and anxiety and other non-specific generic psychological problems presented by patients in primary care settings.’

(Source: Therapy Today)

Excessive internet use linked to depression

British psychologists have found evidence of a link between excessive internet use and depression, research published today has shown.

Leeds University researchers, writing in the Psychopathology journal (abstract here – subscription required for full pdf), said a small proportion of internet users were classed as internet addicts and that people in this group were more likely to be depressed than non-addicted users. Click HERE to read the article in THE GUARDIAN.

Commuter stress takes up to two years off your life

RESIDENTS of commuter towns should be worrying about more than the price of their season tickets. Those with long journeys face stresses that are taking up to two years off their life expectancy, new research has found. Read more in the recent TIMES report HERE.