Talk Therapy as a Depression Treatment

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By JulieCarlson

An unusual change of thought and mood may be referred to as depression. When depressed, there will be changes on one’s behavior, one will have poor appetite and does not want to eat, sleeping pattern may be disturbed, and one may not sleep well or one may oversleep. The outlook you have may change and the way you look at yourself can also be affected. Depression is a difficult condition to deal with because it can also affect people around you.

There are stages of depression and these are mild, moderate and severe and these stages depend on the period of depression. Fortunately, there are also several things that you can do to treat depression. Anti-depressant medications will be helpful together with certain therapies that are conducted only by experts.

Antidepressant drugs are the most common medications being prescribed by physicians when dealing with depression. These have been proven to help depressed individuals to return to their normal selves. Another treatment that is considered is through therapies and the known therapy that is best for depressed person is talk therapy. Talk therapy ca be provided to individuals having a milder form of depression, but when depression is severe, psychotherapy and medications usually come together. It is important to check with your health insurance provider to determine what types of therapy are covered and at what percent.

Psychotherapy or talk therapy is used by experts to bring out the negative thoughts of a depressed patient. With this therapy, a depressed person will be allowed to express what he or she feels. A depressed patient will be made aware of his or her condition and will discuss about the techniques on how to deal with the condition.

There are different types of psychotherapy and the usual type of therapy that is provided to depressed individuals is cognitive-behavior therapy or sometimes called CBT. In cognitive-behavior therapy, the discussion focuses on how a problem or a negative event affects or has caused depression to an individual. When the therapist was able to asses and evaluate the cause of depression, the therapist together with the patient will discuss techniques on how to convert negative thoughts into positive ones. Another usual therapy used is the interpersonal therapy which discusses on how a depressed patient socializes with others.

An appropriate therapist is needed to help in solving the depression problem. There are several mental health professionals who can help and conduct a talk therapy. Psychiatrists, for examples can provide a depression chat. Although most of them only prescribed medications, there are also some who provide psychotherapy. Psychologists, on the other hand, cannot prescribe medications for mental problems, however they can provide therapies that will be appropriate for depressed patients. Social workers and counselors can also provide a talk therapy.

When choosing a therapist, make sure that you are at ease with him or her. Trusting your therapist is also important because with trust, you will be able to bring out your emotions and a better solution can be drawn from it to help treat depression.

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Billy Akerman profile image

Billy Akerman 10 months ago

Great Hub Julie. I have a son who was in therapy for a long long being treated for reactive attachment disorder, which stemmed from abuse before we adopted him. Finding a therapist who keeps current with the latest treatments is very important.

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WordPlay Level 1 Commenter 10 months ago

I'm all for anything that lessens the use of drugs for depression. I realize talk therapy is sometimes used in combination with drugs, but it's nice that in less severe cases it can be used as a replacement for them.

vpolisi profile image

vpolisi 10 months ago

Great hub Julie!Its nice to see a focus on something other than just popping a pill to beat depression!

ionutpopa profile image

ionutpopa 10 months ago

Talking always helps, that's for sure. Being open is good, no matter what situation we're talking about

Mireille 10 months ago

I am a talker and although it does help to talk when I am depressed I also know that there are times I really don't want to talk about what bothers me. If you have a friend like me, then do push him/her to talk. In the end he/she will appreciate it.

Gerald McConway 10 months ago

Anything is better than loading up on drugs. I think that is part of the problem today is that doctors just write a script and think everything will be okay.

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