Campus Alberta Applied Psychology Counselling Initiative

Clients on Antidepressants: A Survey of Canadian Counsellors'

The intent of the proposed project is to survey Canadian counsellors that work with clients on antidepressant medication. This will involve surveying counsellors on three dimensions. First, counsellors will be surveyed to determine the behaviours they utilize in relation to their clients' use of antidepressant medication (e.g., helping clients to monitor their medication use for potential side effects, helping clients to communicate their needs with their prescribing physician, discussing with clients what it means to clients to be taking antidepressants). Second, within this survey, counsellors' general attitudes towards antidepressant medication and its use by clients will be assessed (e.g., do antidepressants primarily mask the symptoms of depression? are antidepressants generally over-prescribed? is a combination of talk therapy and antidepressant medication generally the most effective treatment for depression?). Third, within this survey, information about the type and extent of counsellor training received in psychopharmacotherapy will be sought.