SAD Study - SAD Light Therapy Reasearch

Light Therapy for Other Conditions

The treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder is almost exclusively associated with light therapy, indeed, it has been proposed that response to phototherapy may be a diagnostic criteria for SAD (Smyth, 1990).

However, as many as one-third of diagnosed SAD clients do not respond to light therapy alone (Ghadirian et al, 1998).

In addition, there is evidence that bright light therapy is beneficial to other disorders, including non-seasonal depression, bulimia nervosa, premenstrual depression, and rapid-cycling bi-polar disorder (Avery & Norden, 1998; Blouin et al, 1996; Graw et al 1998; Jang et al, 1997; Lam et al, 1997; Murray et al, 1995; Wesson & Levitt, 1998).