About Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy can also be very effective in treating depression, especially for mild to moderate depression. Psychotherapy may be used alone or in combination with drug treatment.
A recent study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that response rates for medication or cognitive behavioral psychotherapy alone to be 50 to 55%. However, patients who received both medication and psychotherapy had a response rate of 85%. Combined treatments may work more effectively because of the combination of the immediate impact associated with antidepressants and the delayed impact associated with psychotherapy.
During psychotherapy, a psychiatrist, psychologist, or other trained counselor talks with the depressed person about his or her feelings to assist the individual to find ways to cope with the mood disorder.
There are many types of psychotherapy, yet goal-directed psychotherapies are more likely to result in the alleviation of a depressive disorder.
The following types of psychotherapy have been shown to successfully treat depression:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
In this form of therapy, the therapist helps the depressed person to recognize his or her own negative thought patterns and behaviors and replace them with positive ones.
- Interpersonal therapy
Interpersonal therapy focuses on current problems an individual has in his or her personal and social relationships. The therapist helps the depressed person review how he or she interacts with other people, then works on how to change that behavior to improve relationships.
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