Acupuncture is good for depression, just like counseling

A new study suggests that depressed people can find acupuncture as beneficial as counseling, as another treatment option. “For people who have depression, who have tried various medical options, who are still not getting the benefit they want, they should try acupuncture or counseling as options that are now known to be clinically effective”, said Hugh MacPherson, the study's lead author from the University of York in the UK. “What's more important for the patient is does it work in practice and that is the question we were asking”, MacPherson said. “What this says is if you don't get completely better, there are other options”, Dr. Philip Muskin, a psychiatrist at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, told Reuters Health. “One option would be to take a different medication, but by this study these would be valid options”, said Muskin, who was not involved with the new research. “Cleary acupuncture is a new option”, MacPherson said. “This is the first evidence that acupuncture really helps”.