WASHINGTON – A new report finds that talk therapy sessions could help fight depression — without anti-depressant drugs.
Toronto researchers gave talk therapy sessions to patients in four biweekly sessions, the New York Times reports.
The study is the first of four the National Institute of Mental Health is financing. All will soon be completed.
The researchers at Ryerson University in Toronto found that 87 percent of patients who resolved their issues with insomnia also saw their depression levels drop after eight weeks of treatment.
While the study was small, with 66 patients, the research affirms the results of a smaller pilot study done at Stanford. Researchers say the additional research being done at Stanford, Duke and the University of Pittsburgh will offer a better picture and could lead to major changes in treatment.
Talk therapy is not currently a standard treatment for depression. Roughly 18 million Americans suffer from depression every year, and more than half of them also have insomnia, the New York Times reports.
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