Monitor on Psychology - September 2011 - (Page 49)

involve only medication and no psychotherapy jumped from 44 percent to 57 percent between 1998 and 2007. “The pharmaceutical companies have spent millions and millions of dollars to promote their drugs,” says Johnson. “Who’s going to do that for psychotherapy?” According to Johnson and other psychology leaders, the answer is psychologists themselves, individually and collectively. At APA, governance members are developing a policy that will pull together evidence of psychotherapy’s effectiveness for use as an advocacy tool. APA is also working to develop treatment guidelines that will serve as a vehicle for advocating with payers as well as a resource for practitioners. (See “Treatment guidelines are coming” in the October 2010 Monitor.) In addition, APA and APA’s Div. 29 (Psychotherapy) are engaged in a variety of public education and other projects to spread the word about just how effective psychotherapy is. Psychotherapy in decline? In a 2010 study in the American Journal of Psychiatry (Vol. 67, No. 12: 1456–1463), Mark Olfson, MD, and Steven C. Marcus, PhD, examined trends in outpatient psychotherapy in the United States. (See “Where has all the psychotherapy gone?” in the November 2010 Monitor.) Drawing on data from the nationally representative Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys conducted by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the authors found that the percentage of the general population who used psychotherapy stayed the same between 1998 and 2007. But over the same period, outpatient mental health care has changed. Over that decade, the use of psychotherapy on its own and in conjunction with medication has dropped, while medication-only visits have increased. More than 57 percent of patients now receive medication without psychotherapy, up from 44 percent. The percentage who receive psychotherapy only has dropped from almost 16 percent to 10.5 percent, while the percentage who receive a combination has dropped from 40 percent to 32 percent. Marketing isn’t the only reason patients are turning more toward medication and less toward psychotherapy. Another critical factor is insurance coverage: Insurers will often pay for drugs but not for psychological interventions, says Johnson (see sidebar, next page). And prescribing medication is more convenient for physicians, nurses and others than providing psychotherapy, she adds. “Most people who have problems see their primary-care physician,” says Johnson. “From a primary-care provider’s point of view, it’s easier to write a prescription than try to find a provider who could offer other kinds of treatment.” septeMber 2011 • Monitor on psychology 49 Photos.com http://www.Photos.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Monitor on Psychology - September 2011

Monitor on Psychology - September 2011
Letters
President’s Column
Contents
From the CEO
Supreme Court hears psychologists on prison and video game cases
Antipsychotics are overprescribed in nursing homes
New MCAT likely to recognize the mind-body connection
A $2 million boost for military and families
In Brief
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UPDATE
On Your Behalf
Judicial Notebook
Random Sample
TIME CAPSULE
QUESTIONNAIRE
Speaking of Education
SCIENCE WATCH
An uncertain future for American workers
Advocating for psychotherapy
PRACTICE PROFILE
ETHICALLY SPEAKING
Seared in our memories
Helping kids cope in an uncertain world
APA and Nickelodeon team up
Muslims in America, post 9/11
Bin Laden’s death
‘They expect us to be there’
Answering the call of public policy
Candidates answer final questions
APA News
Division Spotlight
New leaders
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATION
Disaster relief training
Honoring teaching excellence
Personalities

Monitor on Psychology - September 2011