What Role Will Therapists Play in the Future?
The computer revolution is coming to psychotherapy: A UCLA study found that patients experiencing depression, stress or a variety of other symptoms were treated effectively using a computer software program supplemented by very brief visits with a therapist. Patients who used software called the Therapeutic Learning Program (TLP) – developed by psychiatrist Roger Gould to help people confront their underlying problems – showed significant improvement and reported a high level of satisfaction with the treatment. “The software program is very sophisticated, theoretically sound and user-friend,” said UCLA psychologist Marion Jacobs, one of the researchers on the project. “It looks very promising for patients with mild to moderate psychological problems.” The study involved 90 patients – most with mild to moderate psychological problems – who were randomly divided into two groups. In one group, each patient saw a psychotherapist for about 50 minutes each week for 10 weeks. In the other gro
