Acupuncture in chronic non-responding anxiety/depression patients: a case series

Background

During the course of 2007 it became clear through Community Mental Health Team meetings that a number of staff had chronic anxiety/depression patients who required a very high level of input. This group was characterised by high service use, resistance to medication regimes, resistance to “talking therapies” such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), long, unbroken involvement with the Mental Health Service and both staff and patient feeling “stuck”.

It was decided to form a support group to try to deal with these resource-intensive individuals. Inclusion criteria were discussed and defined as: >1 year of involvement without improvement; >2 forms of medical management without effect; experienced CBT without effect; daily or near daily contact with Mental Health Services; and both patient and service user feeling they had run out of options.

Method

The group recruited four individuals out of those identified in discussions within the Community Mental Health Team and invited them to attend. Two of the subjects had been static for >2 years, the other two >1 year. The design was loosely CBT, with thought processes challenged …