Did you know that.….

A recent study, published by Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics Journal, shows that low level of optimism predicts initiation of Psychotherapy for new-onset Depression ?

The participants, 38,717 public sector employees, without history of depression, had to respond to a survey, to a Life Orientation Test, and also their indicators of Depression were followed-up during four years.

That study has been carried out by investigators of Finland (Department of Psychiatry, University of Helsinki), England (University College London Medical School, London), and France (University of Versailles St-Quentin, Versailles).

The conclusion was the following : “This study suggests that although both low optimism and high pessimism increase the risk for depression, only low optimism influences the initiation of psychotherapy as a treatment modality for depression. This could imply that depressed patients with low optimism should receive more attention in the beginning of the depressive episode than patients with high optimism”.

This confirms what we have known for some time that the patient’s personality and disposition of him to his treatment may be an important factor in its success.

(Edited by Dr. María Moya Guirao, MD)