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When the cure is not worth the cost Thanks to research by the National Institutes of Health and academic scientists during the last three decades, we now have proven treatments for depression, addiction and other mental disorders. But all too often clinicians do not use them. Without financial incentives to provide treatments that are known to work, many mental health professionals stick with what they know, or pick up on the latest fad, or even introduce their own untested innovationswhich in turn are spread by testimonials and credulous news media coverage. Take the well known approach featured on the cable TV reality show Intervention aimed at getting addicts and alcoholics into treatment. Here, the family and sometimes the employer gather with a counselor, confront the addict and threaten to shun him or fire him if he doesnt enter a rehabilitation center. A 1999 study compared this style of intervention which can backfire and lead to broken familiesto a less confrontational approach known as community reinforcement and family training, which is aimed at helping the family nurture the addicts own motivation. More than twice as many families succeeded in getting their loved ones into treatment with the gentler approach than with standard intervention . But no reality shows push the less dramatic method, and it is difficult to find clinicians who use it. | 
