Which Therapy To Choose: Types Of Therapy For Depression Treatment

Depression these days is a phrase used often, yet very few individuals comprehend the intricacy of the disorder. Due to the prevalent mental health issue taboo in India, people generally ignore this mental disorder and go on in their lives without seeking help to cure it. There was a time when depression was labeled merely as the 'common cold of psychopathology' even within the domain of experts. But, with the changing time and growing awareness in society, people have understood that depression can be more than just tackling the feeling of joylessness, worthlessness, and loneliness. It can go scary, leading people to take their own lives. Therefore, fortunately, now we have a plethora of psychological treatments, also known as therapy for depression treatment. 

These therapies for depression treatment help the patients identify and change their thinking process and behavior and the varied negative habits that lead them to the dark phase. One of the most famous and influential therapies is Psychotherapy, often known as 'talk therapy.' There are several sorts of persuasive psychological treatments for depression and diverse delivery options to choose from; these options include: 

Cognitive Therapy 

Cognitive therapy is a short-term and goal-focused therapy that deals with understanding the pattern of thoughts (cognition) that affects one's emotions. For example, negative reviews are one of the significant causes of depression. It is impossible to feel good when you are stuck in the constant loop of negativity. Cognitive therapy for depression helps identify the pattern of negative thinking and reform them into positive ones, thus improving mood and making you feel better. 

Behavioral Therapy 

As the name suggests, behavioral therapy focuses on reforming one's actions (behavior), leading to emotion dispersion. The main focus of the study is on behavioral activation, hence on helping patients confront and improve behavior that will enhance their sentiments of well-being and happiness. Thus, the therapy for depression treatment focuses on encouraging rewarding, pleasant, or satisfying activities, aiming to reverse the patterns of avoidance, withdrawal, and inactivity that make depression worse.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy 

Cognitive and behavioral therapy are often combined to treat depression and anxiety. When combined, the approach is called cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), which addresses harmful thought patterns and the behavior contributing to depression. Like cognitive and behavioral therapy, CBT is also goal-oriented and involves 5 to 20 structured sessions to address specific concerns. Under this therapy for depression, the therapist may provide you with the "homework," including maintaining a journal, rehearsing relaxation activities, conducting readings, and utilizing worksheets concentrated on specific goals. This, along with curing depression, also helps prevent the future relapse of depressive symptoms. 

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy in the form of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy focuses on high-risk, tough-to-treat patients with multiple diagnoses. DBT was used to treat people with suicidal behaviour and borderline personality disorder. Still, slowly and steadily, it has been acclimated to mental health problems that endanger a person's safety, relationships, work, and emotional well-being. The unique aspect of DBT is that it focuses on accepting a patient's experience as a way for therapists to comfort them and balance the work required to change unfavourable conduct. Overall, this therapy for depression treatment helps patients cope with their opposing emotions, learn to cope with anxiety, restrain their reactions, and even enhance their relationships with others. 

Psychodynamic Therapy 

This therapy for depression treatment assumes that depression can occur because of unresolved or usually unconscious battles, generally stemming from childhood. This type of treatment aims for the patient to gain more awareness of their full range of feelings, including contradictory and problematic ones, and to enable the patient to more effectively handle these feelings and put them in a valuable perspective. Compared to the other approaches, psychodynamic therapy is slightly less focused and long-lasting. Nevertheless, the treatment enables people to comprehend the thoughts, emotions, and challenges contributing to their behaviours. In addition, this therapy process also works to help individuals better understand some of the unconscious motivations that occasionally influence how individuals think, feel, and act.

Interpersonal Therapy 

Interpersonal therapy is unlike traditional therapy for depression treatment, like psychoanalysis. Rather, it concentrates on how more primary problems in interacting with others contribute to symptoms. The treatment addresses the issues by addressing past and current social roles and interpersonal relations. This type of treatment is usually straightforward and concerns examining social relationships with influential people in your life. This can involve relationships with your spouse, companions, relatives, and co-workers. The goal is to determine these associations' role in your life and discover ways of resolving conflicts. The overall idea behind the therapy for depression treatment is to produce a solid social support system that can help support the individual in the long run.

How to choose which therapy to prefer? 

With these many options and treatments available, it can get quite challenging to determine which one gives the best result. So do not worry before committing to the specific kind of therapy; make sure that you diligently listen to your healthcare provider or the therapists because they will suggest you the best therapy for depression treatment based on your condition, symptoms, and requirement. But eventually, the choice is yours; you can select a single approach and experiment with it or go with a combination of approaches as the therapist recommends, all established on what you discern after the session. 

It is equally essential to be conscious about your mental health as you remain for your physical health. Due to the ignorance of letting go of mental issues, the younger population suffers from developmental disorders. The elderly population is falling prey to disorders like depression and anxiety. Therefore, remember, regardless of your chosen approach, make sure you take a step towards caring for your mental health. It is highly possible that you might feel uncomfortable and conscious while sharing your mental health symptoms with a stranger, but try hard and say it out loud; trust us, it will be for your good only.