Talking therapies provide an answer to depression
Talking therapies such as counselling and group therapy sessions are as effective as medication when it comes to preventing relapses of depression.
This is one of the key findings of a study, funded by the Medical Research Council, which revealed that people having ‘mindfulness-based cognitive therapy’ (MBCT) had a similar relapse rate to those taking anti-depressant drugs and that group therapy was more effective in improving patients' quality of life. *
After an eight-week trial of MBCT, the study found that 47 per cent of people slipped back into depression 15 months later, compared to 60 per cent of those taking anti-depressants. **
These new findings support recent evidence that talking therapies can help to ease the effects of depression.
In 2007, the Government announced plans to increase spending on talking therapies, claiming that 91 million working days are lost each year due to depression, at a cost of £12 billion to the economy. ***
The news of the MBCT study comes just days after the 2008 conference of the Association for Independent Practitioners (AIP) where Eric Marshall, Chairman of the Employee Assistance Professionals Association, discussed how EAPs can provide access to counselling for people who may not normally consider it and how they can help to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health.
Westfield Health offers a confidential 24-hour counselling and advice line for policyholders and their resident families, enabling them to speak to a team of fully qualified and experienced counsellors, lawyers and medical staff at any time. The team can provide advice on a range of issues such as stress, debt problems, relationship difficulties or bereavement.
The Foresight and Chamber Plans also offer up to six face-to-face counselling sessions, which allow policyholders to talk through their issues in person.
Westfield also offers EASE, an EAP which can be purchased by employers as a stand-alone product or in conjunction with existing healthcare plans. The product provides the 24-hour helpline and six face-to-face counselling sessions.
For more information about the Foresight Plan, please visit
www.westfieldhealth.com/foresight
For more information about the Chamber Plan, please visit
www.westfield.com/chamber
For more information about EASE, please visit
www.westfieldhealth.com/corporate-health-plans/ease
Sources
* http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7754632.stm
** http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1090754/Meditation-effective-medication-treating-depression.html
*** http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7037400.stm
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