Treatment Options for Depression
Treatment for
depression varies according to the cause of the condition and its severity.
Conventional methods include psychotherapy, antidepressant drugs, and
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Alternative therapies are particularly
effective for minor depression, but for more serious depressions they should be
considered as complementary treatments, not replacements for conventional
methods. Major or chronic depression should be treated by a psychiatrist.
Conventional Treatment
Unipolar depression
is one of the most treatable of the mental disorders. There are several
prescription medications available to treat this condition. Given enough time
and patience, it is usually possible to customize the treatment, get the right
match, and achieve a good outcome.
The tools for
treating depression can be divided into the somatic and the psychological.
Somatic treatments
include:
Psychotherapies for
depression include:
For those suffering
from Major Depressive Disorder, antidepressant medications are very
effective-the overall odds that an antidepressant treatment will work eventually
are probably at least 90 percent. But you have to be patient and persistent. It
may take several weeks for the medication to begin working, and a couple of
months before it has reached its optimum effect. It might also take time and
effort to find the most effective medication for you and to determine its proper
dose. Some people must endure several trials of different antidepressants until
they find the one that is a winner for them.
