Medications versus Cognitive Behavior Therapy - Essay Example

They may also stem from a strictly physical problem and, therefore would appear to benefit more from drugs. Or the third scenario would be that they are both caused by a combination of the physical and psychological. If this is true, then a healthy response to treatment would respond better to both treatments: talk therapy and drugs. An article by the American Journal of Psychiatry in 1999 expressed another opinion: Some early analyses seemed to suggest that medications were better if the client were severely depressed.

Giving away their pro-drug bias, the American Psychiatric Association jumped on the results and recommended drugs as the first line of treatment in people who are severely depressed. Now, all too quietly, the truth emerges. Not based on a single study, this "mega-analysis" of 4 separate studies comparing CBT to anti-depressants found a slight but non-significant difference favoring the therapy over drugs! The authors conclude, "There are no empirical grounds for favoring either form of therapy and that the unique needs of the individual should continue to guide therapeutic choices."(2)Not only do health professionals need to become better educated about the causes and treatments for mental illness and erectile dysfunction so do the individuals affected by them.

Whatever the root causes may be for both problems the patient needs to participate in his or her own care. In today's world, too many doctors are not qualified to treat mental illness, especially that which is severe. Unfortunately, these are the doctors who tend to merely prescribe drugs to the patient. This can be especially dangerous to the person suffering from mental illness. In fact, the doctor without sufficient knowledge about mental illness may prescribe a drug that will exacerbate the illness.

In some cases, especially in those involving youths, this may result in physical harm to the patient and sometimes result in their death. Such cases are clearly those in which a mental health specialist is needed.