Text Box: # The InitiativeText Box: The Initiative is published by DBSA Colorado Springs 825 E. Pikes Peak Ave., Suite 301, Colorado Springs, CO 80903 On the web @ www.DBSAColoradoSprings.org Phone or FAX: 719-477-1515 E-mail: help@dbsacoloradosprings.org Editor: Charles M. Sakai Assistant Editor: Steve Bell Founded in 1994, DBSA Colorado Springs is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, all-volunteer organization, and an independent affiliate of the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, the nation’s leading patient-directed organization focusing on the most prevalent mental illnesses: depression and bipolar disorder. Our Mission: To improve the lives of people living with mood disorders. The Initiative is a quarterly publication and we’d love to hear from you! Please send us letters, poems, humor, stories, news items and personals. SEND ALL ENTRIES TO ADDRESS ABOVE. DEADLINE FOR NEXT NEWSLETTER ITEMS: Friday, September 14, 2007 Views and opinions expressed in this newsletter are solely those of the authors, and are not that of the Editor (except for material written by him), nor that of DBSA Colorado Springs. Text Box: Text Box: Non-Discrimination Policy Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) of Colorado Springs DBSA Colorado Springs does not discriminate on any inappropriate or illegal basis including, but not limited to: race, creed, economic status, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability (physical or mental handicap), veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation or gender identity. Text Box: Educational Program on Teen Depression for Local Schools For information about the DBSA Colorado Springs Teen Depression Initiative and to schedule a presentation at your school, please contact Ralph Lundgren: 477-1515, or by email: help@dbsacoloradosprings.org Text Box: Psychodynamic Therapy Passes a Test A meta-analysis of 17 trials conducted over a period of 35 years suggests that short-term psychodynamic therapy is an effective treatment for a variety of psychiatric disorders. Dynamic therapists concentrate on emotional conflicts and identify patterns in the patient’s feelings and behavior, often with special attention to wishes, dreams, and fantasies. They emphasize the patient’s relationship with the therapist, especially as it involves feelings transferred from earlier relationships and childhood experience in particular. The 17 studies in the survey compared short-term psychodynamic therapy—and average of 7 to 40 sessions—with being placed on a waiting list or another kind of psychotherapy (such as cognitive behavior therapy) in the treatment of disorders that included major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), eating disorders, cocaine addiction, social anxiety disorder, and borderline personality. Most of the studies had not been included in any previous meta-analysis. On average, short-term dynamic therapy was superior to putting patients on a waiting list and to “treatment as usual” and as effective as other kinds of psychotherapy, both immediately after treatment and at the follow-up (average one year). It improved symptoms of the diagnosed disorders, other symptoms, and overall psychological and social functioning.