There are a wide range of psychological treatments for depression.
Some of the main ones are:
Psychological treatments provide either an alternative to medication or work alongside medication. As always, a thorough assessment of the person is needed in order to decide on the best set of approaches.
People suffering from depression - particularly 'non-melancholic depression' - will often have an ongoing negative view about themselves and the world around them. This negative way of thinking is often not confined to depression, but is an ongoing part of how the person thinks about life. Many or all of their experiences are distorted through a negative filter and their thinking patterns become so entrenched that they don't even notice the errors of judgement caused by thinking irrationally.
Cognitive behaviour therapy aims to show people how their thinking affects their mood and to teach them to think in a less negative way about life and themselves. It is based on the understanding that thinking negatively is a habit, and, like any other bad habit, it can be broken.
CBT is conducted by trained therapists either in one-on-one therapy sessions or in small groups. People are trained to look logically at the evidence for their negative thoughts, and to adjust the way they view the world around them. The therapist will provide 'homework' for between sessions. Between 6-10 sessions can be required but the number will vary from person to person.
CBT can be very beneficial for some individuals who have depression but there will be others for whom it is irrelevant.
See also Consulting a psychologist
Tanner S and Ball J (1989), Beating the Blues: A Self-help Approach to Overcoming Depression . Doubleday. A step-by-step program based on CBT to help overcome depression. Very readable and informative book with questionnaires, self-tests and case studies.
MoodGYM program- an online cognitive behaviour therapy program provided free of charge by the Centre for Mental Health Research at the Australian National University.
ABC Health Matters - 'Cybertherapy'. A feature article outlining the growth in online self-help CBT programs for anxiety and depressive disorders.
The causes of depression, or our vulnerabilities to developing depression, can often be traced to aspects of social functioning (work, relationships, social roles) and personality .
Therefore, the underlying assumption with interpersonal therapy is that depression and interpersonal problems are interrelated.
The goal of interpersonal therapy is to help the person understand how these factors are operating in the person's current life situation to lead them to become depressed and put them at risk to future depression.
The therapy occurs in three main phases:
Usually 12-16 sessions of IPT will be required.
Weissman MM. Patient's Handbook for Depression, Harcourt Brace, Sydney, 1995.
Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy is a relatively new form of treatment for depression. This approach was developed by Segal, Williams and Teasdale (adapted from the work of Jon Kabat-Zin) in order to prevent relapse for those who had previously experienced an episode of depression.
Mindfulness is a form of self-awareness training that has been taken from mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness is about being aware of what is happening in the present on a moment by moment basis, while not making judgements about whether we like or don’t like what we find.
Generally Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy is undertaken in an 8 week group program format, however often psychologists use these techniques in one-on-one therapy sessions depending on their training and experience.
Other mindfulness-based approaches have also been developed that may be used for depression (eg. MiCBT) and therapies such as Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy also use components of mindfulness in their approach.
See our handout for tips and techniques on how to use mindfulness in everyday life.
Other links relating Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
Positive Psychology is a new and quickly growing area of psychology that is interested in the conditions that contribute to the flourishing or optimal functioning of people.
'Positive Psychology is founded on the belief that people want more than an end to suffering. People want to lead meaningful and fulfilling lives, to cultivate what is best within themselves, to enhance their experiences of love, work, and play. We have the opportunity to create a science and a profession that not only heals psychological damage but also builds strengths to enable people to achieve the best things in life.' Professor Martin Seligman.
Positive Psychology researchers have identified many everyday activities that improve wellbeing. These include; keeping a gratitude diary, performing small acts of kindness, learning to savour enjoyable moments and varying pleasant experiences to avoid routine.
See our fact sheets: Positive Psychology and Happiness.
Psychotherapy is an extended treatment (months to years) in which a relationship is built up between the therapist and the patient. The relationship is then used to explore aspects of the person's past in great depth and to show how these have led to the current depression. Understanding this link between past and present - insight - is thought to resolve the depression and make the person less vulnerable to becoming depressed again.
See Consulting a psychotherapist
Counselling encompasses a broad set of approaches and goals that are essentially aimed at helping an individual with problem solving - solving long-standing problems in the family or at work; or solving sudden major problems (crisis counselling).
Narrative Therapy is a form of counselling based on understanding the 'stories' that people use to describe their lives. The therapist listens to how people describe their problems as stories and helps the person to consider how the stories may restrict them from overcoming their present difficulties. It sees problems as being separate from people and assists the individual to recognise the range of skills, beliefs and abilities that they already have (but may not recognise) and that they can apply to the problems in their lives.
Narrative Therapy differs from many therapies in that it puts a major emphasis on identifying people's strengths, particularly as they have mastered situations in the past and therefore seeks to build on their resilience rather than focus on their negatives.
More information about Narrative Therapy can be found at The Dulwich Centre.
Page last updated: 6-May-2009
Depression and Bipolar Disorder Information Australia - Black Dog Institute.
Copyright © 2009 Black Dog Institute
Our site has been approved by the HealthInsite Editorial Board to be a HealthInsite information partner site
