Mental Illness: Medication or Therapy?

One in four people will suffer from mental health problems at some point in their lives (World Health Organization, 2001), a reality common to both developed and developing countries. In fact, so important is the issue that the Department of Health (2004) estimates that mental illnesses are the second biggest burden on the NHS (in terms of the years of healthy life that people lose due to disability and illness). Attempts to tackle the situation on a number of fronts have been seen: last year, ￡18 million were invested in a new action plan called Moving People, aimed at reducing the increasing stigma associated with having a mental illness in England. Despite this, mental health initiatives are often seen as a soft target for funding cuts within the NHS (Brindle, 2006). This has led to a situation in which, more often than not, doctors end up prescribing medication rather than more expensive psychological therapies. Therefore, it is more crucial than ever to have accurate information regarding the effectiveness of the different treatment options for various illnesses.