Prozac Nation No More?
That's it?
The second session, we use a low-tech form of biofeedback to teach them to relax. In the third session, we do guided imagery, and so on—one new technique in each session. I also teach several types of meditation.
How much exercise does it take to deal with depression?
Generally speaking, the more, the better. But the idea is not to feel guilty if you don't do as much as you think you should. Just starting with a little bit can make a difference. If all you think you can manage is 10-15 minutes of walking a day, that's a great place to begin.
Have you published research showing that this works?
We have one published study with 139 traumatized kids in Kosovo in 2002. After 10 weeks, their post-traumatic stress disorder scores went down from 88 percent to 38 percent. We have another coming out soon—a randomized controlled trial with war-traumatized teens. Other researchers have done many studies on the individual techniques that I use in "Unstuck." The key is using a variety of techniques that work together to help people look at the world differently and lower their levels of stress. Individually, these techniques work at least as well as antidepressants for people with mild to moderate depression. Together they are likely to be far more effective.
And for severe depression …?
That's harder to work with. That's where we need studies.
When did you start working with traumatized populations?
Twelve years ago, I wanted to see if this approach could help people who'd been through horrendous experiences. The first places I went were Mozambique, where we worked with child soldiers, and South Africa. But my colleague Dr. Susan Lord and I began in earnest in Bosnia, after it had been totally decimated by war. Then when the war in Kosovo began in 1998, we went in there, too. If you wait until after a war is over, the psychological and physiological patterns of trauma become fixed. Rates of heart disease, alcoholism, spousal abuse, child abuse, depression and PTSD go way up. Eventually my faculty and I trained 600 professionals to teach our program, and our model became an integral part of the country's mental-health services.
And in a long-term conflict areas like the Gaza Strip?
Almost simultaneously, I received nearly identical emails—one from a Palestinian psychologist and one from an Israeli psychologist who had seen what we had done in Kosovo. They were completely overwhelmed by the situation and asking for help. We've now trained 300 professionals [to teach our techniques] in Israel, many of whom work along the Gaza border, in areas where there's shelling. In Gaza, our 90 trainees are dealing with people who have amputations and chronic illnesses, children orphaned by the conflict, men who've been in Israeli prisons. We work with every faction—Hamas, Fatah, Islamic Jihad—and with some people who aren't part of any group. We've worked with thousands of kids, and we have detailed data on 490 so far, showing they feel better, more relaxed, less depressed, more hopeful about the future—and this is in a situation with ongoing conflict, little electricity and very few jobs.
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Member Comments
Posted By: Troymbl @ 11/07/2008 1:27:42 PM
Comment: I'm working with James S. Gordon, MD, the Expert above, to help him educate the public about natural approaches to treating depression. We're following in Oprah and Eckhart Tolle's footsteps and have created a free four part online web series called "A Natural Approach to Treating Depression," starting on November 18th. It includes four video classes plus a bunch of free downloads - all for free. I've attached the essentials below. www.mblwellness.com/unstuck/
Free Online Learning Event: "A Natural Approach to Treating Depression"
Lesson 1 - An Overview of Depression and How You Can Treat it Yourself with the Help of a Guide
Premiere Date and Time: Tuesday, November 18th at 8:30 EST.
Lesson 2 - Relaxation/Stress Management. Premiere Date and Time: Thursday, November 20th at 8:30 EST.
Lesson 3 - Exercise and Movement Premiere Date and Time: Saturday, November 22nd at 6:30 EST.
Lesson 4 - Other Useful Techniques and Advice for Participants Premiere Date and Time: Monday, November 24th at 8:30 EST
Resources Provided: The "Unstuck Pack"
Participants can go to the website and download the free Pack, which includes:
? The Unstuck Workbook & Journal to use with the course
? An audio relaxation exercise for an MP3 player
? A guide to relaxation and meditation to use with the exercise
? A follow-along video, which demonstrates a relaxation exercise
? An excerpt of "Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression"
Sign up and additional information is at www.mblwellness.com/unstuck/
Posted By: Troymbl @ 11/07/2008 1:27:25 PM
Comment: I'm working with James S. Gordon, MD, the Expert above, to help him educate the public about natural approaches to treating depression. We're following in Oprah and Eckhart Tolle's footsteps and have created a free four part online web series called "A Natural Approach to Treating Depression," starting on November 18th. It includes four video classes plus a bunch of free downloads - all for free. I've attached the essentials below. www.mblwellness.com/unstuck/
Free Online Learning Event: "A Natural Approach to Treating Depression"
Lesson 1 - An Overview of Depression and How You Can Treat it Yourself with the Help of a Guide
Premiere Date and Time: Tuesday, November 18th at 8:30 EST.
Lesson 2 - Relaxation/Stress Management. Premiere Date and Time: Thursday, November 20th at 8:30 EST.
Lesson 3 - Exercise and Movement Premiere Date and Time: Saturday, November 22nd at 6:30 EST.
Lesson 4 - Other Useful Techniques and Advice for Participants Premiere Date and Time: Monday, November 24th at 8:30 EST
Resources Provided: The "Unstuck Pack"
Participants can go to the website and download the free Pack, which includes:
? The Unstuck Workbook & Journal to use with the course
? An audio relaxation exercise for an MP3 player
? A guide to relaxation and meditation to use with the exercise
? A follow-along video, which demonstrates a relaxation exercise
? An excerpt of "Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven-Stage Journey Out of Depression"
Sign up and additional information is at www.mblwellness.com/unstuck/
Posted By: harry2008 @ 10/31/2008 2:24:15 AM
Comment: Its a very good website.
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Harry
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