[bcarlyle]

I'm a clinical psychologist who was in charge of the largest randomized controlled trial of online cognitive behavioral therapy for depression (n=500).

There is nothing that annoys me more then the every person is a special snowflake argument for why we can't use standardized treatment for mental health problem.

Exercise works really well for curing depression. I talked to a depressed patient yesterday who had no idea what he could do to combat his depression. I finally convinced him that if he couldn't think of anything else to do he should just try going for a walk and he told me later that it really helped.

I've had that exact conversation a hundred times.

Almost all patients I meet have the faulty belief that they are special. That they function in a way that is different from others and that often make them resist treatment.

Your head is connected to your physical body and therefore we can figure out what helps for everyone in the same way a doctor knows what to do about a broken foot.

Did you know that almost half off patients who suffer from anxiety take too shallow breaths and this creates respiratory alkalosis that creates a lot of the anxiety symptoms.

Did you know that by breathing calmly you will cure yourself from panic attacks? Forever.

Did you know that psychologists know how to cure insomnia in a single session?

The biggest hurdle to overcome is the idea that there exists a magic barrier where your disorder goes from being something that you can cure yourself to something you need a professional for. The barrier is an illusion.

You always have the power to change your mood for the better.

I'm not saying that therapy isn't useful. It is extremely useful and helps people tremendously.

I'm saying that every single individual can make a conscious effort to focus on improving their mental health irregardless of the fact that they are seeing a therapist.

Also. Almost every single person is illiterate about how to treat mental health problems.

I've been a fairly happy person all my life and I believe I owe it to the fact that I developed excellent coping mechanisms.

If you haven't got those you need to learn them. Once you have them it gets much easier to have good mental health.

I'm actually working on building free online treatment for depression right now. It is a work in progress but if anyone is interested they can check it out here.

https://getpsychologistsnow.com/cbt/depression/

[such_a_casual]

It's not okay to lie about mental health. This is a dangerous post.

If you are someone who read that post and are about to take what was said as fact at least google the statement that is the most obviously fake: "Did you know that psychologists know how to cure insomnia in a single session?" and in doing so remember the word that was chosen: cure. -------------------------------------------

Red flag: (you don't need help you can help yourself)

> The biggest hurdle to overcome is the idea that there exists a magic barrier where your disorder goes from being something that you can cure yourself to something you need a professional for. The barrier is an illusion.

-------------------------------------------

To blatantly dangerous and false statements:

> You always have the power to change your mood for the better.

From another one of this user's posts:

> In the last 50 years clinical psychologists have figured out effective psychological treatments for almost all mental health problems and manualized them so a professional can know or easily look up the best way to treat a disorder.

and:

> I regularly meet patients who are very depressed when we first meet who manage to overcome their depression in a couple of weeks.

Which would be like 2 appointments?

I would place serious doubt on anything this person claims.

[escape_goat]

No offence intended, doctor, but I would like to see citations for a couple of your statements, specifically "by breathing calmly you will cure yourself from panic attacks..forever," and "psychologists know how to cure insomnia in a single session." These certainly aren't common knowledge, and they sound a bit overstated, while your broken foot analogy would not survive any degree of detailed examination -- as I am sure you know -- so I'm a but unsatisfied with your comment.

I'd like to suggest that your patients' beliefs might originate with a valid, correct observation from their lives; their experience is that they do function in a way that is different from others in their lives, and they have generally, in their lives, seen that those who have insisted that they do not function any differently, do not, in truth, actually understand their experience at all. I would suggest that you cut them some slack.

It's generally true, to my understanding, that one "always [has] the power to change [one's] mood for the better;" but its also true that human volition isn't very well understood, that self-control is understood to be a limited (albiet apparently trainable) resource that correlates strongly to blood glucose, that some people seem to have innately poorer impulse control than others, and that everyone experiences absolute freedom of choice at all times only in a crass and unsatisfactory Sartrean sense.

This leaves me wishing to suggest to you that you might want to avoid relative comparisons of mental health that admit a "strength of will" argument as to why one person might succeed in overcoming depression where another might fail.

I am sure that you do have excellent coping mechanisms, and I am sure that you are happier for it; I am sure that, by definition, most anyone would be happier if they improved their ability to cope with events in their lives; I am sure that every single individual can make a conscious effort to focus on improving their mental health. However, some will fail; others will fail to try. I am sure that you understand that it is nothing other than good luck that you were able to develop excellent coping mechanisms, even if it is a good luck that most people, perhaps even most people with mental health problems, might share. But your remarks make some strong generalizations and propose a virtuous course towards self-empowered mental health without being duly respectful of the actuality.

[Dr_tldr]

> Did you know that psychologists know how to cure insomnia in a single session?

I've spent quite a bit of time and money working with psychologists, psychiatrists, done sleep studies and kept up with the latest research, and there's nothing I'm aware of that would support your claim.

So, I have a few questions for you:

1) Peer-reviewed sources?

2) Are you concerned that making these kinds of claims non-anonymously without publishing any data to back it up could cause you to lose to your medical license?

[Malician]

"Estimates say that 20% of all people experience depression at some point in their life. It’s a bit more common among women and half of all women experience depression compared to one in four men."

.5 women + .25 men > .2 all people

[raddad]

>I'm actually working on building free online treatment for depression right now.

It already exists. 7 Cups of Tea

http://www.7cups.com/

"Glen Moriarty, Founder and CEO, is a psychologist passionate about the Internet’s power to help people lead better lives. He has been involved in a number of services and organizations that support people in need. 7 Cups of Tea is his most recent endeavor; marrying his background in psychology with his love for technology. "

Best explanation of depression I've ever heard/seen is "Andrew Solomon: Depression, the secret we share" https://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_solomon_depression_the_secr...

[zwischenzug]

This is a really odd post. No citation for this trial, some very peculiar sweeping statements (pointed out by others), and a link to a website that looks more than a little hokey.

CBT is proven to be effective when the depression is low-level, ie not acute. Like when people can get it together to get out of the house and see a therapist. Really it amounts to little more than reversing the causality of standard behaviours (eg exercise to make yourself feel good rather than because you feel good).

The website linked to is extremely poorly written, and contains zingers like: 'The way out of depression is all about getting started doing all the things you once loved to do! Getting started is the hardest step but trust us, you will feel better after doing all the things you love!'

This is the kind of wonderful advice you get from people who've never suffered from crippling depression.

I'm curious to know which nation this person is a clinical psychologist in.

It's a shame because exercise is probably the single thing most likely to help depression. That and drugs.

[bootload]

"Did you know that almost half off patients who suffer from anxiety take too shallow breaths and this creates respiratory alkalosis that creates a lot of the anxiety symptoms."

When in stressful situations, [0] 'take big breaths, then breath out', repeat. This should lower your heart rate by 10%. There's a nice overview explanation of "respiratory sinus arrhythmia". [1]

[0] https://www.policeone.com/Officer-Safety/articles/7811997-Ho...

[1] https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-neuroscience-mindfu...

[nikmobi]

> Did you know that psychologists know how to cure insomnia in a single session?

Can you please elaborate more on this point? :)

[spangry]

What's your view on use of medication to treat depression, anxiety disorders, ADHD etc? And just to be clear, are you categorically stating that any panic or depressive disorder can be cured with breathing and exercise respectively?

[alanctgardner3]

> I'm a clinical psychologist who was in charge of the largest randomized controlled trial of online cognitive behavioral therapy for depression (n=500).

Peer-reviewed study, please?

> every person is a special snowflake argument

Right off the bat, you sound like a condescending asshole. I would never go to more than one session with you if this is how you treat patients.

> Exercise works really well for curing depression.

You really think you _cured_ someone's depression by telling them to take a walk sometimes? Granted, I find strenuous exercise is really helpful, but there are also days where you cannot will yourself out of bed to go to the gym. Having some asshole psychologist tell you that it's your fault just makes things worse.

> Did you know that by breathing calmly you will cure yourself from panic attacks? Forever.

Yeah, tell this to my girlfriend, who gets _more_ anxious when she's trying to take deep breaths.

> I've been a fairly happy person all my life

Because you never experienced significant trauma, you don't have an imbalance of chemicals in your brain, basically you just won the goddamn lottery. Do you take advice from people who win the Powerball about how to get rich?

> I'm actually working on building free online treatment for depression right now

This sounds really admirable. Looking at the website, it's so cluttered and confusing I don't think anyone could benefit from it. And it seems like you're recommending that people contact you over Telegram? Like anyone? Just your formal patients? This is a giant ethical and HIPAA minefield, offering professional medical services via text message.

[dang]

I understand why you feel strongly in response to that comment, but please don't cross into personal attack.

[marincounty]

Please tell me you are not a licenced Psychologist?

If you managed to get through med school, and finish a residency in Psychiatry; I have a money making idea:

Write a book on just how you got into medical school.

(Wow--could you imagine pulling out you wallet/purse after this session?)

Sorry dude, but please, see a psychiatrist. Bring this post.

[jwdunne]

Not sure if it's the same in the US but a clinical psychologist is not a psychiatrist.

A psychiatrist is a specialist medical doctor. They've been right through the whole med school thing.

A clinical psychologist takes an accredited psychology BSc and then takes further courses. These finalises with a doctorate, giving the Dr title. They are, however, not medical doctors.

It may have changed but a good rule of thumb is that a psychiatrist can prescribe the full range of treatments, including medication. From what I recall, a clinical psychologist focuses on prescription of therapy - they may need a psychiatrist to prescribe if they believe medication would be useful.