Depression Treatments: Psychotherapy
Description
This article is from the Health Articles series.
Depression Treatments: Psychotherapy
Introduction to Psychotherapy
Centuries, or even only decades ago, if you had a bout of depression, you would have probably gone to your religious leader or maybe a relative for guidance and sympathy. Today, while many people still take their problems to friends, relatives, religious figures, and even bartenders, many others turn to professional therapists.
This change is happening because depression is finally being recognized for what it is: A medical condition that requires medical help.
For the last 50 years, the job of counseling has been taken from the hands of church and family and turned over to the institution of psychotherapy.
What is Psychotherapy?
It is common for people to think psychotherapy involves lying on a leather couch, telling your childhood traumas to a modern-day Sigmund Freud. Today, patients rarely lie on couches; instead, modern psychotherapy provides an opportunity to express and discuss feelings with a therapist, either one-on-one or in a group.
The objective is to work on resolving life issues that contribute to depression and develop more positive attitudes and ways of dealing with the day-to-day challenges. Depending on the individual, psychotherapy can be helpful on its own or in combination with medication.
Types of Psychotherapy
There are many methods of psychotherapy to choose from: Supportive Psychotherapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Dynamic Psychotherapy, Cognitive Psychotherapy, Behavioral Psychotherapy and many, many more. Most of these are forms of talk therapy, where a therapist and one or more clients talk in order to find resolutions to the client's problems. This happens in sessions lasting about an hour. Supportive therapy is generally structured, while the other forms listed are unstructured.
Psychotherapy used in the treatment of depression is usually short-term (less than six months), although sometimes maintenance (long-term) psychotherapy can help to prevent the recurrence of depression.
Research has also shown that interpersonal and cognitive-behaviorial psychotherapies can offer effective treatment for mild-to-moderately severe depression. The value of other psychotherapies is less well established.
Unfortunately, more severely depressed patients are unlikely to benefit from psychotherapy alone and usually require an anti-depressant medication, or in most severe cases ECT. While some patients may prefer (and benefit from) psychotherapy or antidepressant therapy alone, the combination of both treatments is often the preferred approach.
Find a Therapist You Like
If you don't feel comfortable talking about your problems with someone, you probably won't get as much out of the therapy. So no matter what form of psychotherapy you choose, make sure that you find a therapist that you like and trust. Good rapport is extremely important to the counseling process.
The therapist you choose may be a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a social worker, or some other trained and qualified therapist.
Structured Psychotherapy
Structured therapies are the most common when dealing with depression and can be highly effective if used along with medication. Structured psychotherapy teaches you specific ways to reduce your stress and more effectively deal with your problems. You will usually meet with your therapist for a certain number of one-hour sessions, usually between eight and 12.
Unstructured Psychotherapy
As you may have guessed by its name, unstructured psychotherapy means that there are no set techniques or length or duration of therapy sessions. Instead, the therapist will try to act as a neutral figure and allow your impulses and emotions to guide the course of treatment. In general, unstructured psychotherapy lasts longer than structured psychotherapy—often years.
There is less evidence to prove that unstructured psychotherapy is effective, however, this may be because it is more difficult to study.
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