> "The 'couch,' or, more generally, long-term psychoanalytic
> psychotherapy, was for so long a hallmark of the practice of
> psychiatry. It no longer is," Mojtabai said.
>
> Today's psychiatrists get reimbursed by insurance companies at a lower
> rate for a 45-minute psychotherapy visit than for three 15-minute
> medication visits, he explained.
>
> ...the percentage of patients' visits to psychiatrists for
> psychotherapy, or talk therapy, fell from 44 percent in 1996-97 to 29
> percent in 2004-05. The percentage of psychiatrists using
> psychotherapy with all their patients also dropped, from about 19
> percent to 11 percent.
>
> ...As talk therapy declined, TV ads contributed to an "aura of
> invincibility" around drugs for depression and anxiety...
>
> ...By contrast, there's almost no marketing for psychotherapy, which
> has comparable if not better outcomes...
>
> ...Psychotherapy uses verbal methods to get patients to explore their
> emotional life, thoughts or behavior. The goal is to ease symptoms,
> sometimes through getting the patient to change behavior or mental
> habits.
>
> Its benefits can be seen in brain imaging studies, said Dr. Eric
> Plakun, who leads an American Psychiatric Association committee
> working to restore interest in psychotherapy by psychiatrists.
>
> ...other professionals are picking up the slack, ...Psychologists and
> social workers provide counseling but most cannot prescribe drugs, so
> it's possible that for patients who require both talk and pills, some
> coordination in care may be lost, Mohr said.
>
> http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/08/04/psychiatrists.couch.ap/index.html