Managing Depression with Psychotherapy
If left untreated, depression can cause life-long suffering. However, with treatment, more than 80 percent of people with depression improve. Most treatments involve medication, but psychotherapy, delivered with or without prescription drugs, may also be effective in managing depression.
Types of Psychotherapy
There is a wide spectrum of psychotherapies available, each with a different focus and technique. Before beginning any treatment, it is important to be thoroughly evaluated by your physician for causes of depression and the presence of other psychiatric disorders.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy(CBT)
Cognitive-behavioral therapy is one of the most effective and extensively studied psychotherapies. CBT focuses on current, negatively distorted behaviors, thoughts and beliefs. The aim is to substitute realistic thoughts for distorted ones. Time-limited to approximately 20 weekly sessions, CBT is collaborative and largely includes the patient in the process of setting goals.
According to Jennifer Anthony, PhD, staff psychologist at Rhode Island Hospital and clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown Medical School, “The ultimate goal of CBT is to teach people skills to manage depression that they can use throughout life.”
Interpersonal therapy (IPT)
Interpersonal therapy, while less known, shares some parallels with CBT. Lasting approximately 12 to 16 weekly sessions, IPT focuses on social factors and current interpersonal problems and relationships. The goal is to treat depression by improving social relationships, and to break the depression cycle: Relationships that cause depression, which in turn causes the breakdown of more relationships.
Though less popular, there are additional psychotherapies available, including:
- Existential therapy, which aims to increase awareness of mortality and purpose of life.
- Supportive therapy, which serves passively as a space for talking and listening only.
- Psychodynamic therapy, which focuses on the unconscious over a long span of time, approximately five to ten years.
- Family Systems , which focuses on the context around the patient.
A beneficial partnership: psychotherapy and medication >>
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