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From: blenko@rochester.UUCP (Tom Blenko)
Newsgroups: net.suicide
Subject: Re: Clinical Depression -- (?)
Message-ID: <6469@rochester.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 23-Apr-84 03:33:43 EST
Article-I.D.: rocheste.6469
Posted: Mon Apr 23 03:33:43 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 24-Apr-84 00:53:02 EST
References: <838@psuvm.UUCP>
Organization: U. of Rochester, CS Dept.
Lines: 36

This is an exercise in non-logic, right?

	A large proportion of people with clinical depression are
	suffering from a biochemical abnormality which can be greately
	improved by medication with little or no psychotherapy. (This
	tends to occur more frequently in in some families, rather like
	diabetes.)

If you have evidence to support this, I'm sure many people in the field
would be greatly interested. The people in the field I am acquainted
with are NOT aware of it. I think the claim was made that Lithium was
an anti-depressant, but then they went back and looked a little more
closely at the data...and it turned out that the patient population was
1) unreliable, 2) highly selected -- the test hospital was a regional
VA hospital in New England and saw patients on referral and with little
monitoring.

	Therefore anyone experiencing SEVERE depression, especially if
	there is little external cause, should see a MEDICAL doctor,
	not a psychologist who is not trained in use of medication.

How, exactly, does one determine that the depression is severe, or that
there is little external cause?

If the medication works (prevents depression), are you treating the
cause or the symptoms? If the latter, is that adequate? And who is
to decide?

	Since one characteristic of clinical depression is " total
	absence of hope",  some friendly person should intervene & take
	the patient to a doctor.

Once again, how does the non-psychologist diagnose clinical
depression?  I don't think you will find the presumptive patient is
necessarily willing to take advice from the "friendly" person.