Depression News:

General Practitioners Need More Than a Few Days Training to Help Depressed Patients

General practitioners need more than a few days of basic training on brief cognitive behavior theory if they are to better help their patients suffering from depression, according to researchers at Royal Free and University College Medical School in London.

Researchers recruited 84 general practitioners and 272 of their patients who were suffering from depression or anxiety disorder.

Fifty percent of the physicians received four half-days of basic training in brief cognitive behavior therapy and the other fifty percent provided patients with their usual course of care.

After six months, the level of knowledge of depression and the attitude towards treatment was no different between the trained and untrained physicians, according to the study published in the British Medical Journal. The training levels had no measurable impact on the patients' outcomes.

Either the physicians did not learn sufficient skills in dealing with depression and anxiety or did not have enough time to put what they had learned into practice, reported the study.

"General practitioners may require more training and support than a basic educational package on brief cognitive behavior therapy to acquire skills to help patients with depression," concluded the researchers.

Source: Depression Week of April 28, 2002