'Green treatment' targets depression
Walking in the countryside could help to beat the blues
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Monday, 14, May 2007 10:27
'Green therapy' is being advised to tackle the growing number of people in the UK who are receiving treatment for depression.
Figures released today reveal that antidepressant prescriptions are at an all-time high with over 31 million prescriptions written by GPs in 2006 – a six per cent increase from 2005.
Included in this figure is a ten per cent rise in primary care prescribing of SSRIs (Serotonin Specific Reuptake Inhibitors) such as Prozac.
Mind, the leading mental health charity, argues that instead of relying solely on drugs people should also receive ecotherapy.
This 'green treatment' involves walking, kite-flying and gardening and should be recognised as a clinically-valid frontline treatment for mental health problems, Mind claims.
A study on the impact of this treatment found that 71 per cent of people with mental health problems taking a walk reported decreased levels of depression and feeling less tense.
A further 90 per cent had increased self esteem after the country walk.
Mind's chief executive Paul Farmer said that ecotherapy should not replace drugs, but the debate on its use "needs to be broadened". The charity also called for care farms – where patients are prescribed agricultural work – to be introduced as a treatment for mental distress.
"Mind sees ecotherapy as an important part of the future for mental health. It's a credible, clinically-valid treatment option and needs to be prescribed by GPs, especially when for many people access to treatments other than antidepressants is extremely limited," Mr Farmer said.
"Hundreds of people have benefited from the green projects run by our local Mind associations but if prescribing ecotherapy was part of mainstream practice it could potentially help the millions of people across the country who are affected by mental distress."
One in four people in Britain is estimated to have a form of mental illness.