An Alternative to Antidepressants?
Pharmaceutical companies are coming under scrutiny for misleading statements about the effectiveness and the safety of the most prescribed antidepressants, SSRIs. While psychotherapy and even hospital treatment programs are expensive and have mixed results, a new program is showing very promising results. The Uplift Program is reporting a 94% success rate as long as two years afterwards.
(PRWEB) January 16, 2005 -- Everyone will be significantly affected by
depression (their own or that of someone close to them) at some time in their
life, according to government statistics. More and more are turning to
antidepressants, increasing their prescriptions 350% between 1990 and 2000. Yet,
as a recent article in The Australian (Dec. 16 '04) showed, pharmaceutical
companies are increasingly coming under scrutiny for misleading statements both
about the effectiveness and the safety of the most prescribed antidepressants,
SSRIs, calling them a class of drug of dubious benefit that, through savvy
marketing, has become a multi-million dollar cash cow.
Studies show that
antidepressants only really help 30% at best. And, most frightening of all, the
greatest growth market for SSRIs is in pre-school age children, an age group for
whom Britain has mostly banned these drugs.
So, what's the
alternative?
While psychotherapy and even hospital treatment programs are
expensive and have mixed results (one study showed that the most popular mode of
treatment for depression, cognitive behavior therapy, had an 80% relapse rate
after two years), a new program is showing very promising results.
The
Uplift Program, which offers a wide range of tools for overcoming depression
based on creating lasting, supportive relationships at home and work, is
reporting a 94% success rate as long as two years after taking the two-and-a
half day workshop (according to follow-up questionnaires). Private sessions with
qualified therapists and free support groups are available as follow-up.
Sponsored by the University of South Florida and California Institute of
Integral Studies, the program has been growing by leaps and bounds both in the
US and Australia, partly due to the soaring sales of the book by the program's
founders, Dr. Bob Murray and Alicia Fortinberry, Creating Optimism: A Proven,
Seven-Step Program for Overcoming Depression (McGraw-Hill, 2004).
Dr.
Murray, a clinical psychologist who attended New York State University and the
University of Sydney and Ms. Fortinberry, a health writer, psychotherapist and
executive coach, divide their time between San Francisco, Tampa and Sydney.
Together they have trained health professionals at major universities and
teaching hospitals, including Duke University Medical Center, Tufts University
Medical Center, JFK University and the Royal North Shore Hospital and the
Australian College of Applied Psychology in Sydney.
Their next Uplift
Program for the public is Feb 4-6 (Sydney).
More information about the
Uplift Program and the founders can be found on their websites www.upliftprogram.com, an
extensive depression resource, and www.creatingoptimism.com, including:
* The latest
depression statistics and startling new facts about depression causes- http://www.upliftprogram.com/depression_facts.html
* Press
room, including media clips and press releases- http://www.upliftprogram.com/pressroom.html
* Biographical
details of Dr. Murray and Ms. Fortinberry- http://www.upliftprogram.com/presenters.html
* An overview
about the Uplift Program- http://www.upliftprogram.com/about.html
* A recent article
by Dr. Murray and Ms. Fortinberry, highlighting their depression solution
(published in AHP Perspective, the journal of the Assn. of Humanistic
Psychology)- http://www.ahpweb.org/pub/perspective/june2004/june04cover.html
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/1/prweb197748.htm