Work in Progress

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Published monthly by Michele Crawford
Work in Progress is an electronic newsletter intended to assist individuals seeking optimum well-being.

www.michelecrawford.ca
www.willowhousewellness.com
mail to michelecrawford@dccnet.com

Work in Progress June 2006 Volume I Issue IV

Feature Article: Part Two: Questioning the Treatment of Anxiety
and Depression with Drugs

Please feel free to forward a copy of Work in Progress (in its entirety) to friends, co-workers, or anyone interested in personal development.

In this Issue:

1) Note from Michele
2) Feature Article
3) About Michele
4) Counselling Services

1) Note from Michele

Dear Reader

Welcome to Part Two of Questioning the Treatment of Anxiety and Depression with Drugs. Part Three will follow in one month.

On May 25, 2006, as part of the Art and Science of Psychotherapy Conference for Mental Health Professionals (organized by Jack Hirose & Associates in conjunction with the Canadian Mental Health Association/ Richmond Branch), I attended Pills or Skills? This was a presentation of a panel of knowledgeable experts discussing the latest research in treating anxiety and depression with medication and or therapy. The sizeable number of people attending (which was free and open to the public), was greater than expected by the organizers and spoke to its relevance as an issue.

The flyer advertising this presentation detailed some of the controversies surrounding the treatment of anxiety and depression disorders with prescription medication. Controversies included: a) there is no conclusive evidence that depression or anxiety results from a chemical imbalance in the brain (i.e., low levels of serotonin); b) antidepressant medications are only marginally better than placebos, if at all!; c) antidepressant medications seem to lead to a large increase in suicide and suicide ideation; d) much psychiatric research is badly flawed and misleading; e) powerful financial and political interests, rather than scientific considerations, dominate the field; e) most of the so-called mental disorders that psychiatrists diagnose are largely mythical; and f) psychotherapy represents the most effective treatment for depression and all the anxiety disorders – both in the short-term and in the long-term.

As a skeptic of the effectiveness of drugs for the treatment of anxiety and depression, even I was amazed by what the latest research reveals about the reality in these statements.

Read on and discover what these specialists had to express from the presentation of Pills or Skills?

2) Part Two: Questioning the Treatment of Anxiety and Depression with Drugs

The question: what causes depression and anxiety? Contributing factors could include cognitive distortions (what A.A. refers to as “stinking thinking”), family and cultural influences, psychosocial stressors, mishandling of vulnerable situations, lack of environmental and social rewards or support, social inequities, diet, lack of exercise and genetic (bio-chemical) effects. (Note: bio-chemistry has the least influence on creating depression and anxiety.)

The answer: all of these factors cause depression and anxiety. Genetics matter but environmental factors are significantly more influential than bio-genes, biochemistry, disease and drugs. In other words, depression and anxiety can only exist in a social context and it is important to understand that this fact is entirely ignored when medication, which only treats biochemistry, is the main avenue to relief.

The serotonin theory was outlined (and debunked) in Part One of this newsletter series. At the presentation Pills or Skills?, the panel of world-renown specialists discussed the latest science in treating anxiety and depression. They all conclusively agreed there is no evidence supporting the theory that the replacement of serotonin is helpful. In fact, acquired through the Freedom of Information Act, one expert showed us an internal memo where a drug company executive actually acknowledges this fact!!

According to the World Health Organization, depression is the fourth most debilitating cause of suffering after heart disease, cancer and traffic accidents. It is a problem that is growing around the planet. Depression is described as a social contagion because mood spreads and currently, it is the most pervasive socially transmitted condition.

Depression is contagious not in a viral or bacterial way, but in a social sense. For example, children of depressed parents are significantly more likely to be depressed themselves. This is a learned, not a biological, condition.

The Panel of Pills or Skills?:

Dr. David Antonuccio, Ph.D., author of Raising Questions about Antidepressants and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Nevada School of Medicine

Dr. David Burns, M.D., author of the just-released When Panic Attacks and the #1 best-seller Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy (45 million copies sold)

Dr. Michael Yapko, Ph.D., psychologist and clinical hypnotist and depression expert, author of Trancework, When Living Hurts, and Breaking the Patterns of Depression

Dr. Henny Westra, Ph.D., Associate Professor and Director of the York University Anxiety Research Clinic

Dr. David Antonuccio, Ph.D. reported on the astounding increase of children being prescribed mood and even psychotrophic medication. His concern, beyond the risk, is that children are involuntary patients. He stated that research has indicated that diet, exercise and 12 weeks of psychotherapy are far more beneficial, usually resolving a child’s problems.

Dr. Antonuccio focused on his incredulity that for sixteen years people (especially children), have been exposed to all the risks of these medications BEFORE data has finally been published about their MANY side-effects. Furthermore, in published research, children’s symptoms were alleviated by placebos (sugar pills that the patient believes to be actual medication), were 75% successful compared to a success rate of 25% from selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) like Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, or Celexa. In unpublished research, the success percentage was 90% placebo with 5% SSRIs.

Recently, Health Canada issued warnings regarding the increased potential of children and adolescents on SSRIs self-harming and harming others. In 16 controlled studies, only 3 specified positive results; indicating drug company-sponsored studies have inflated benefits and minimalized harm in their reported outcomes.

Dr. Antonuccio predicted SSRIs will soon be perceived by the general public the way they actually are; without the glare of millions of dollars of drug corporation advertising and dishonesty in the coverage of studies, (perhaps in the same light as tobacco and shortly after all the class action lawsuits? …), and be off the market.

The expressed opinion of Dr. Henny Westra, Ph.D., is that the medication treatment most people are getting for depression and anxiety is the most expensive, least effective, most dangerous and least preferred.

With Canada’s annual budget of $130 billion (1990’s budget was $44 billion and 2000’s was $83.1 billion), the cost related to depression is greater than all cancers combined. This is VERY lucrative for drug companies! Psychiatric drug consumption is increasing faster than any other drug and our health care budget spends more on these drugs than on doctors.

Dr. Westra went on to dispel a commonly believed myth in the field of depression and anxiety management: drugs are cheaper than therapy. She explained that the facts support psychotherapy is far less costly than drugs (e.g., panic drugs cost 50% more than therapy and depression is 30% more expensive). Therefore, qualified individual psychotherapy is the single most cost-effective solution for depression and anxiety management, especially when considering the long-term benefits of therapy over drugs (and doesn’t have the physical side-effects).

Dr. Westra points out that if mental health therapists had a multi-million dollar advertising budget (as do the drug companies), we could change the world! She described the placebo effect (as she acknowledged the research of placebos working the same or better than SSRIs), as the belief effect: in other words, when a person attributed their recovery to SSRIs, they had actually HEALED THEMSELVES!

My next issue will include the research investigations made by Dr. David Burns, M.D and Dr. Michael Yapko, Ph.D. To be continued…

For more information, please contact:
Michele Crawford RCC CCC at
E-mail: michelecrawford@dccnet.com or
Phone: 604-515-9727
Web Site: www.michelecrawford.ca

3) About Michele

Michele Crawford is a therapist who assists individuals who are struggling with trauma, anxiety or depression. Her passion for her work remains embedded in being able to connect with you in your suffering, helping you find real solutions no matter how complex the issue may be.

4) Counselling Services

Are you prepared to live with more happiness, optimism, confidence, self-worth and hope? If your answer is “yes,” then your next step is to contact me. We can then discuss how I might best help you resolve your problems of Trauma, Depression and Anxiety.

The benefits of counselling with Michele include: significantly reduced stress levels, an optimistic outlook in life, increased confidence and hope.

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