PsiAN in Wall Street Journal

As always, PsiAN is focused on changing the narrative about psychotherapy in the media. For the very first time, we were featured in the Wall Street Journal when they ran a letter to the editor by our own Linda Michaels. Her letter was in response to an article that raised concerns about new screening guidelines for anxiety. The letter, included below, is a timely reminder that any discussion of mental health symptoms is incomplete if it fails to mention the role of psychotherapy:

“The essay ignores psychotherapy and the importance of understanding the meaning and underlying causes of anxiety, depression, sleeplessness or lack of appetite. While psychiatric medications can be lifesaving and very useful, we need to differentiate when someone requires psychiatric medication from when he or she needs psychotherapy. Yes, it is time-intensive, but it’s highly effective and evidence-based. Demand outstrips supply when it comes to mental health professionals. We need to increase the numbers of those professionals and pay them market rates, rather than institute superficial screenings that will only create more demand and crowd out those who do need professional mental health care.”