Psyberspace

Intensive Psychotherapy More Effective Than Brief Therapy For Treating Bipolar Depression

I see stuff like this in my custom google psychotherapy news item.  It seens thgere is a run of research that says psychotherapy is better when intendive & psychodynamic.  More effective than drugs or at least more effective than drugs on their own and so on.

This sort of research is dubious, but I know from so many years of work as a psychotherapy that it fits with my experience.

But there is a danger too, psychotherapy can go badly wrong with a bad therapist, and how do you know?

Easy to know one thing: boundaries.  If there is anything other than meetings in the therapists rooms, for a fee then beware.

Listened to an interesting podcast from Future Primitive featuring Max Adashu who is writing volumes on Witches – Suppressed History

I like her politics and her sane approach to the supression of the feminine, which includes the suppression of the psych, and all things psychological (in the true soul anima sense of the word.) I liked the phrase that in culture male is default.

Art on her site here http://www.maxdashu.net/

Download Podcast here

Try using psychodynamic psychotherapy for panic disorder — HealthandAge:

Psychotherapy is an effective treatment for panic disorder, according to a new study comparing it with relaxation therapy. Panic disorder is a common and debilitating condition characterized by bouts of extreme anxiety, dizziness, palpitations and chest pain. It accounts for as many as 20 per cent of US emergency room visits. Antidepressant therapies can be used to treat it, as can cognitive behavioral therapy. In a new study, researchers at New York -Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center reveal that psychodynamic psychotherapy is also a useful approach. A group of 49 patients was assigned to either 12 weeks of twice weekly psychodynamic therapy or to applied relaxation training. The psychoanalysis was twice as effective as the relaxation. In the study, 73 per cent of those on psychotherapy reported improvement, compared to only 39 per cent in the relaxation group. Psychodynamic psychotherapy allows helps patients confront the root causes of the fear that drives their panic disorder. This was only a small study but the results are promising enough to justify its extension to larger groups of patients.

Source American Journal of Psychiatry March 2007

I suppose it is good to see this sort of report. However it is all nonsense. They muddle up the distinction between psychoanalysis & psychodynamic psychotherapy, and worse it the idea that psychodynamic psychotherapy is focused on a particular symptom with a particular outcome. It may be that there is deep trauma under the panic and even 24 sessions is rushing it. Worse still is that the clients will have had to consent to a battery of tests.

Psychotherapy is like some particles in physics – it changes if you observe it from the outside.

Nice to see a test that says psychotherapy os ok, but still silly

Scoop: Get It Straight: Repeal Section 59 And Cut Crime:

Anne Else’s Letter gets it right.