Treatment Methods for Depression Essay

Depression has multiple ways of being treated. "several classes of drugs are used to treat depressive disorders. People respond differently to the available drug and a person with depression may need to try several different drugs until finding one that works just right for them" (depression,2) seeing a therapist or counselor may be another form of treatment. "research indicates that certain well defined methods psychotherapy can help in the treatment in some cases of depression, however no evidence exists that insight-orientated psychotherapy alone is effective enough in serious cases but it can shorten the duration of the disease by many months" (Byke,

Depression is a common mental disorder, characterized by sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, feelings of tiredness, and poor concentration. Depression can be long-lasting or recurrent, substantially impairing an individual’s ability to function at work or school or cope with daily

Cognitive therapy, now called cognitive behavioral therapy was developed by Aaron Beck. Beck believed that dysfunctional thought processes and beliefs are responsible for an individual’s behaviors and feelings. He also believed that individuals’ have the ability identify these distorted thoughts and change them to more realistic thinking in order to relieve their psychological discomfort. This type of therapy is designed to be a short-term, straight-forward and structured approach to counseling in which counselors and clients work together. I strongly identify with cognitive behavioral therapy because I believe all behaviors are a result of incorrect thoughts and beliefs. Irrational and negative thinking can influence an individual’s ability to cope and deal with any difficulties they may be experiencing. I also like cognitive behavioral therapy because it briefly includes a client’s historical background in its approach to counseling. I feel that counselors should include a client’s past experiences when trying to understand at what point the client’s incorrect assumptions developed. I believe that everybody in this world always has a choice on how they handle and behave in their given situation and circumstances. In cognitive behavioral therapy, once the counselor and client have identified the irrational thoughts and evaluated whether there is any evidence to its validity, the client has the ability to choose whether or not they desire to change their distorted ways of

Pharmacotherapy i.e. treatment through drugs in this case antidepressants, is one of the many therapies used to treat depression. There are varieties of antidepressants that are used as a treatment of depression, for example tricyclics. The newest and most commonly used antidepressants are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The Cochrane review (2007) has showed evidence that SSRIs such as fluoxetine compared with a placebo have been effective when treating depression in children and adolescents. Another type of antidepressants that have been used in treatment of depression are tricyclics, unlike SSRIs, a study by Hazell (2004) has shown that they are an ineffective treatment of depression.

Thus far, I have learned about the pros and cons to using medication in treatment with clients. In addition, I have seen first hand the benefits of implementing medications in client’s treatment plan. From my understanding, Depression is one of the most prevalent illnesses in the world. Because of this fact it is important that we understand and explore all the implications surrounding the use and efficacy for treatment. In order to treat our clients with the best care possible, we as therapist should be educated on the types of medications for depression, the impact they have on the body, and their efficacy of improving symptoms and overall functioning. In this paper I will explore three articles about antidepressants and their efficacy for treating clients with depression. In addition, I will provide my overall reaction to the studies and the material provided for the efficacy of antidepressants for treating depression.

Depression is a mental illness and condition that influences the brain. The mental illness affects an individual’s feelings and thoughts negatively which results in the lowering of one’s mood.

Depression is a disease that many people suffer from everyday of their lives, there are cures and treatments that can get people help, but it is still and everyday struggle. “Depression is a psychoneurotic disorder characterized by a lingering sadness, inactivity, and activity, and difficulty in thinking and concentration.” (Lerner 1). Depression can be defined as a brain disorder, that people are diagnosed with.

Along with medication it is wise for people to go to ‘talk therapy’ so they can control their emotions and thoughts better. Psychological treatment is a long term solution to depression because working through problems and re-training the brain to feel and think in a more positive light will help stop depression after a while. Medication and therapy are used together so while a patient is undergoing the long journey of therapy they can have short term relief using medication. Another common treatment for depression is through school and community supports. When a person has depression, it is important to make life less stressful for them so it’s easier to overcome their illness which is why it’s good when teachers help the patient. Also, a support group (such as Depression Anonymous) is another treatment option because talking to others with the same problem often helps patients overcome their own struggles. (“Depression.”

Have you ever met someone who is depressed? I have; last year my mom was diagnosed with a mild case of depression. The first thing the doctor did when she went in for her doctor's appointment was prescribed her antidepressants. Before doing this research, I never knew depression was such a big problem in the United States. According to All About Depression, “Depression affects approximately 19 million Americans, or 9.5% of the population in any given one-year period” (“All About Depression: Overview”). Most people are asking these two major questions: What kind of treatments are available to help treat depression and how do these treatments work? Depression can be treated using several different methods such as antidepressants, talk therapy, exercise, and electroconvulsive therapy. Finding a treatment that is successful for you is very important because depression can do a lot of

Reviews of research on psychotherapy versus antidepressants with evidence supported methods were used. WebPages along with the reading of numerous studies

Roughly twenty million people in the United States suffer from depression. Depression is defined as a mental illness which leads to feeling sad, having trouble thinking and concentrating, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, decreased energy, and having a decreased amount of interest in most activities. Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses to be diagnosed in the United States. The mental illness can affect anyone regardless of race, gender, or socioeconomic standing.

Psychotherapy and counseling are more common ways of treatment. Both psychotherapy and counseling are very similar and are more for moderate levels of depression. They involve talking to a therapist that tries their best to help them regain their sense of control. Sometimes, depending on the individual; psychotherapy and counseling can worsen depression. But, there has been a high success rate with the individual’s outcome after going through psychotherapy and counseling. Ways that counseling and psychotherapy are beneficial is that it can help you handle emotions from problems or anything causing one stress. Another reason is because it can make you feel like you have a purpose. Talking to someone and letting go of previous problems helps a lot and can reassure one. Although psychotherapy and counseling is shown to help, there are also negative impacts that can come along. One negative impact can be that your problems worsen. Sometimes a therapist brings out the worst in you and instead of helping, actually can be a cause of problems. Another impact is the patient starting to rationalize or intellectualize. Rationalizing is making excuses for something

Physical therapy - A shock therapy such as Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) can help in treating depression although this therapy is still subject to study and research. Another form is neurology that is reserved in extreme

Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. You may have trouble doing normal day-to-day activities, and sometimes you may feel as if life isn't worth living, (Mayo). Depression is not like a general illness and it is not something you can just go purchase and over the counter medicine for. Physicians have yet to find any causes of depression. It is believed to be the root of a chemical imbalance of the brain, which related to genes or stress in a person's life.

The most common depression treatments are medication and psychotherapy. Medications most often begin with antidepressant medication. Antidepressants primarily work on brain chemicals called neurotransmitters, especially serotonin and norepinephrine, although there are some antidepressants that work on the neurotransmitter dopamine. Some of the newest and most popular antidepressants are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Fluoxetine (Prozac), sertraline (Zoloft), escitalopram (Lexapro), paroxetine (Paxil) and citalopram (Celexa) are some of the most common