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September 8, 2008 5:04:00 AM CDT

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Therapy by Any Other Name

Posted Mar 12, 08 6:56 PM CDT in World,  Science & Health 

(Newser) – A program that treats depression in Indian villages is seeking to transform mental health care throughout the developing world, the New York Times reports. Bypassing expensive doctors, the clinics train laypeople to avoid talk of mental illness—a shameful stigma in many cultures—by screening for "strain" and "tension," and offering patients therapy, yoga, and medication.

Long labeled an ailment of the wealthy, depression afflicts about 20% of residents in poor countries—the same as in the West—but up to 90% of victims receive no treatment. Severe depression can be as disabling as physical diseases, doctors say, but the treatment remains low-tech and affordable. “The core resource is humans,” says one psychologist.

Source New York Times

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Resource-starved clinics in India are swamped addressing physical ailments, like a malaria epidemic shown here. Patients, too, are reluctant to bring up mental illnesses because they fear being stigmatized.   (Magnum Photos)
An Indian doctor inspects a malaria patient in Calcutta. Overworked doctors lack time and inclination to ask patients about mental health.   (Magnum Photos)
Dr. Vikram Patel's low-cost depression treatment program trains laypeople to identify and treat such afflictions in rural villages in Western India.   (Getty Images)
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India  • depression  • mental health  • developing world  • psychotherapy


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