Psychiatric News May 6, 2005
Volume 40 Number 9
© 2005 American Psychiatric Association
p. 29
`When There's No Money To Be Made...'
Despite proven efficacy, light therapy appears to be a marginal treatment
in the eyes of many
clinicians.
"I believe the availability of light therapy is hit or miss,"
said Robert Golden, M.D., author of a meta-analysis of studies of light
therapy showing it to be highly effective in treatment of mood disorders (see
above story). "Some communities may not have clinicians who are trained in this modality. It is a relatively new treatment compared with psychotherapy
or pharmacotherapy, and I would predict that the number of lectures and
symposia focused on it at the APA annual meeting is quite small, compared with
those addressing other treatments.
"In my opinion, more education is clearly indicated, especially as
the evidence base supporting its use and defining the standard treatment
parameters moves forward," Golden said.
Norman Rosenthal, M.D., who has done more than anyone to advance the use of
light therapy and the understanding of seasonal affective disorder (SAD),
concurred.
"I know of no published data that speak to the frequency with which
clinicians prescribe light therapy, but my impression, based on many years of
working with SAD patients, is that clinicians often just don't think about it
as a legitimate therapy or else fail to prescribe light for other
reasons," he told Psychiatric News.
"It is certainly an area in which clinicians need more
education," Rosenthal added. "When it comes to pharmaceutical
treatments of depression and other conditions, physicians are constantly being
educated by pharmaceutical representatives and at industry-sponsored dinners
and symposia. But when there is no money to be made, no such opportunities for
education arise, and public agencies would do well to step in and fill the
vacuum."
Related Article:
-
Light Therapy Kept in Dark Despite Effectiveness
- Mark Moran
Psychiatr News 2005 40: 29.
[Full Text]
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