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Non Pharmacological Therapy Essay

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Non Pharmacological Vs. Pharmacological Depression Treatment

It is estimated that thirty-two to thirty-five million U.S. citizens will experience depression during their life (DeRubeis, Hollon, Siegle 2). Depression can be treated with a Non Pharmacological method that is therapy or a Pharmacological method that is medication. Non Pharmacological Treatments (NPTs) are more effective when treating depression. All forms of NPT reduce depression symptoms and there is little to no side effects, in most of the methods.

Unlike Pharmacological Treatment, all NPT methods are proven to reduce depression symptoms. According to the article, Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), in twenty weeks or less of being treated with this method, someone will start to get relief from the symptoms of depression (4). Another strategy to reduce depression symptoms would be to do cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT is a, “common type of talk therapy” that, “can be an …show more content…

Some people say that because CBT doesn’t always cure depression or because it doesn’t make an, “unpleasant situation go away” that CBT isn’t effective to recovering from depression (Mayo Clinic Staff 6). While this is true, The Mayo Clinic Staff continues on and says, “But it can give you the power to cope with your situation in a healthy way and to feel better about yourself and your life” (6). Not one treatment can get rid of someone’s depression completely, all it can do is help by reducing depressive symptoms.

One of the issues that always occurs when someone is trying to recover from an illness of some kind is the side effects that the treatments can give someone. Almost no NPT treatments have side effects besides emotional distress, but pharmacological treatments do have side effects. Joseph F. Goldberg, a clinical professor of psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine, explains, Pharmacological treatments can have side effects ranging

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