A spokeswoman for state Health Minister John Thwaites said the government was aware of the problems and would return 200 of the welfare counsellors the former government took from schools, as well as 100 nurses. Melbourne University psychology professor Jeanette Milgrom sees post-natally depressed women, and says evidence for PND being a biological disease is weak. Like many experts who rail at the system privileging drugs over psychotherapy, she believes treatment should encompass more than medication. It's a bit of a cop-out to say that because you can't measure the unconscious, you can't assess it. There is little precision about depression.
Every story is different.
Some experts talk about it like it is a biological disease, but it is as much an artefact of being alive as a distinct medical condition. It is the biggest determinant of disability in the world. But despite the hype of drug companies, there is no pill to cure this ill. The magic bullets like Prozac ease the symptoms of some sufferers, but they don't cure. Biologists do not know what depression is.