Telephone Approach to Therapy
How can you get mental health care when there doesn't seem to be adequate local resources? The question is a good one and I've had students who have told me that, in their part of the country, they are the only therapist for 50 miles. So, aren't there any other ways to get an assessment and help besides traveling that long a distance?
The December 2005 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, in an article by Rollman et al., details their study of telephone-based interventions. This study is especially timely since there has been a growing internet presence for therapy and both psychologists and psychiatrists are becoming aware of its need.
The Rollman study carefully screened individuals for panic disorder and of the 191 people recruited, 116 were put into the telephone-based care-management intervention and 75 were given the usual assignment of notifying the PCPs and patients of their diagnosis.
The telephone-based care patients were offered one of three treatment options: a workbook with self-management skills and follow-up care with a care manager who reviewed the lesson plans with them, "a guideline-based trial of anxiolytic pharmacotherapy to be prescribed by the primary care physician; or referral to a community mental health specialist.
"Based on those preferences, a treatment recommendation was made to the primary care physician, who was free to accept or reject recommendations," an article in Psychiatric News, January 6, 2006 indicated.
The result was a reduction "in anxiety and an improvement of quality of life" in those patients in the collaborative care (telephone-based) intervention. There were significantly less trips to the ER and fewer missed days of work.
One of the other interesting findings was that 80 per cent of the telephone study participants, when given a choice, used the self-management workbook and an SSRI/SNRI. Twelve months after the study began, there were significant reductions in scores of depression, while those who chose "usual care," meaning those who did not get the telephone intervention and workbook, had two or more trips to the ER.
The study seems to be pointing to the power of self-help anxiety management with, when necessary, medication as a very potent approach to treatment. This approach also provides patients with a sense of self-empowerment, something I have always felt is an important component of any healthcare treatment.
Related Topics: Finding the Right Therapist, Short on Shrinks
Technorati Tags: findingatherapist, mentalhealthcare, telephonetherapy
The December 2005 issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, in an article by Rollman et al., details their study of telephone-based interventions. This study is especially timely since there has been a growing internet presence for therapy and both psychologists and psychiatrists are becoming aware of its need.
The Rollman study carefully screened individuals for panic disorder and of the 191 people recruited, 116 were put into the telephone-based care-management intervention and 75 were given the usual assignment of notifying the PCPs and patients of their diagnosis.
The telephone-based care patients were offered one of three treatment options: a workbook with self-management skills and follow-up care with a care manager who reviewed the lesson plans with them, "a guideline-based trial of anxiolytic pharmacotherapy to be prescribed by the primary care physician; or referral to a community mental health specialist.
"Based on those preferences, a treatment recommendation was made to the primary care physician, who was free to accept or reject recommendations," an article in Psychiatric News, January 6, 2006 indicated.
The result was a reduction "in anxiety and an improvement of quality of life" in those patients in the collaborative care (telephone-based) intervention. There were significantly less trips to the ER and fewer missed days of work.
One of the other interesting findings was that 80 per cent of the telephone study participants, when given a choice, used the self-management workbook and an SSRI/SNRI. Twelve months after the study began, there were significant reductions in scores of depression, while those who chose "usual care," meaning those who did not get the telephone intervention and workbook, had two or more trips to the ER.
The study seems to be pointing to the power of self-help anxiety management with, when necessary, medication as a very potent approach to treatment. This approach also provides patients with a sense of self-empowerment, something I have always felt is an important component of any healthcare treatment.
Related Topics: Finding the Right Therapist, Short on Shrinks
Technorati Tags: findingatherapist, mentalhealthcare, telephonetherapy
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