Depression Psychotherapy Treatment

Approximately 15 million adult in the United States are affected by major depressive disorder. Depression can be a debilitating condition that affects a person's physical, emotional and mental well-being. Psychotherapy treatment models are designed to address its underlying causes and provide healthy solutions.

Identification

• Thinking patterns and behaviors often reinforce symptoms of depression. How a person sees the world around him greatly affects his life experiences. Psychotherapy helps by identifying a person's thinking patterns to see how these perceptions are affecting her quality of life. Cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal and psychodynamic are all different methods used in this approach. For depression treatment, short-term therapy lasting up to six months is the standard time allotment. Individuals with mild to moderate depression benefit most from this treatment approach.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy is a psychotherapeutic model made up of different methods of treatment. Rational emotive behavior therapy, rational behavior therapy and rational living therapy are all different techniques within this approach. Within each technique, thought processes are viewed as the source of emotional pain. Cognitive-behavioral therapy treats depression symptoms through examining existing thought processes and replacing them with constructive thought patterns. This treatment approach is a time-oriented process in which the patient and therapist decide on an end point for treatment at the start of the treatment process.

Interpersonal Therapy

• Interpersonal therapy is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on the connections between the individual and the relationships with other people in his life. Childhood experiences and unconscious motivations are discussed in an attempt to understand how an individual's current lifestyle feeds into her depression symptoms. Interpersonal therapy uses seven intervention techniques within the therapeutic process. These seven techniques include exploring relationship patterns, reviewing past history, examining current relationships, discussing emotional responses, identifying client motivations, identifying a person's resistances to treatment and observing the client/therapist relationship as it progresses.

Psychodynamic Therapy

• Psychodynamic therapy is an in depth approach to psychotherapeutic treatment. Its techniques are rooted in psychoanalysis in which the focus is on unconscious motivations and psychic tensions. The interpersonal relationship that develops between therapist and client play a large role in the treatment process. Depression symptoms are treated by helping the client to identify negative emotional patterns developed in childhood and how they play out in current everyday relationships. This approach is designed to release the emotional blocks that hold depression in place.

Considerations

• In cases of severe depression, psychotherapy treatment alone may not be enough. Therapy combined with antidepressant medications has been found to be the most effective course of treatment in these cases. Medications help to stabilize a person's emotional state which, in turn, makes him better able to understand and apply new thinking habits learned in therapy.