Treatment Options

Behavior Therapy

Behavior Therapy involves helping a patient increase the frequency and quality of pleasant activities (reference Antonuccio, D.O. (1998). The coping with depression course: A behavioral treatment for depression. (The Clinical Psychologist, 51, 3, 3-5). People who are depressed have low rates of pleasant activities and their mood improves with increases in pleasant activities. During depressive phases they lack social skills, which also contributes to depression (reference Lewinsohn, P.M., Youngren, M.A., & Grosscup, S.J. (1980). More

Cognitive Therapy

Cognitive Therapy for treatment of depression involves helping patients learn to think more adaptively and thereby experience improvements in affect, mood, and behavior. People who are depressed process information negatively and have dysfunctional beliefs. References: Butler, A.C., & Beck, A.T., (1995); Cognitive therapy for depression. The Clinical Psychologist, 48, 3, 3-5.) More

Interpersonal Therapy

Interpersonal therapy for treatment of depression aims to resolve interpersonal difficulties in depression. Depression does not exclusively arise from interpersonal problems; however problems can occur within an interpersonal context. Interpersonal therapy is a well-established treatment for major depression. Reference: The Committee on Science and Practice (chaired by William Sanderson, Ph.D. at Rutgers University). More

More on Psychotherapeutic Treatment

Includes references for treatment manuals, through the American Psychological Association. There is also some evidence to suggest that brief dynamic therapy, self-control therapy, and social problem-solving therapy are useful in the treatment of depression. There is no evidence that long-term psychodynamic treatment or brief, supportive counseling are effective interventions for the treatment of depression. Reference: Veterans Health Administration, Department of Defense (2000). VHA/DoD clinical practice guideline for the management of major depressive disorder in adults. Washington (DC): Department of Veterans Affairs.

Pharmacological Treatment

There are many different antidepressant medications that are effective for treating depression in adults. The specific medication choice is generally based on side effect profiles, safety in overdose, history of prior response, concomitant medical conditions, family history of response, and type of depression. Reference: Veterans Health Administration, Department of Defense (2000). VHA/DoD clinical practice guideline for the management of major depressive disorder in adults. Washington (DC): Department of Veterans Affairs. More