Forest Rock Acupuncture Clinic

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Acupuncture and Chinese herbal Medicine has Great success in the treatment of Depression,Stress and Anxiety

Depression,Stress and Anxiety

                       

Specialist treatments (Herbal formulas may also be required)

Acupuncture, or non-directive counselling versus usual care for the treatment of depression: a pilot study. Schroer S, Macpherson H.

 Depression is one of the most common reasons for consulting in primary care [1]. The economic burden of this health problem in the UK is estimated to be £9 billion per annum with £370 million being due to direct costs of treatment [2]. Despite these considerable costs, current pharmacological and psychological interventions options have limited acceptability and effectiveness. A recent survey of London GPs found an "effectiveness gap" in the treatment of depression, an effectiveness gap being defined as an area of clinical practice in which GPs considered available treatments as not fully effective [3]. Up to 33% of patients do not show an adequate response to pharmacological antidepressant treatment [4], and 30% do not adhere to their medication regime [1]. Patients have expressed the view that there is an over-reliance on prescribed antidepressant medications and that they are keen to have a range of possible treatment choices [5].

A significant number of individuals who are diagnosed and treated for depression also present with painful symptoms, with prevalence estimates ranging from 43% to 65% [6]. A recent survey of 644 respondents conducted by the Depression Alliance found that 99% of people with depression have physical symptoms and 85% believe their "quality of life could be greatly improved if their aches and pains were managed effectively" [7]. GPs are optimally placed to manage these patients with both painful conditions and depression, but feel ill equipped to do so [6]. Patients with multiple painful symptoms and depression are less satisfied with their medical care than patients without mental disorders

Previous research on the main complementary therapies in the UK has shown that acupuncture is one of the most commonly used CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine) modalities in the UK [8], and that depression is regularly treated by acupuncturists [9]

References

1.Gilbody, S; Whitty, P. Effective Health Care Bulletin – Improving the recognition and management of depression in primary care. NHS CRD, University of York; 2000.

2.Thomas, C; Morris, S. Cost of depression among adults in England in 2000. British Journal of Psychiatry. 2003;183:514–519. doi: 10.1192/bjp.183.6.514. [PubMed]

3.Fisher, P, et al. Effectiveness Gaps: A new concept for evaluating health service research needs applied to complementary and alternative medicine. J Altern Complement Med. 2004;19:627–632. [PubMed]

4.Rush, AJ, et al. Bupropion-SR, sertraline, or venlafaxine-XR after failure of SSRIs for depression. New England Journal of Medicine. 2006;354:1231–1242. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa052963. [PubMed]

5.NICE. Depression: Management of depression in primary and secondary care. NCCMH: London; 2004.

6.Katona, C, et al. Pain symptoms in depression: definition and clinical significance. Clinical Medicine. 2005;5:390–395. [PubMed]

7.Depression Alliance. Symptoms of Depression, 644 respondents (survey). 2004. 

8.Thomas, K; Coleman, P. Use of complementary or alternative medicine in a general population in Great Britain. Results from the National Omnibus survey. Journal of Public Health. 2004;26:152–157. doi: 10.1093/pubmed/fdh139. [PubMed]

9.MacPherson, H; Sinclair-Lian, N; Thomas, K. Patients seeking care from acupuncture practitioners in the UK: A national survey. Complementary Therapies in Medicine. 2006;14:20–30. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2005.07.006. [PubMed]