Free Essays,College Free Essays,Free College Essays at Anti Essays

Psychological treatment of depression can assist the depressed individual in several ways. First, supportive counseling helps ease the pain of depression, and addresses the feelings of hopelessness that accompany depression. Second, cognitive therapy changes the pessimistic ideas, unrealistic expectations and overly critical self evaluation that creates depression and sustains it. Cognitive therapy helps the depressed person recognize which life problems are critical, and which are minor. It also helps the patient to develop positive life goals and more positive self assessment. Third, problem solving therapy changes the areas of the person’s life that are creating significant stress, and contributing to the depression. This may require behavioral therapy to develop better coping skills to assist in solving relationship problems. At first glance this may seem like several different therapies being used to treat depression. However all of these treatments are used as a part of a cognitive behavioral therapy approach to depression. Cognitive behavior therapy combines two very effective kinds of psychotherapy, cognitive therapy and behavior therapy. Behavior therapy helps the patient weaken the connections between troublesome situations and his habitual reactions to them. Reactions may include fear, depression, rage, and self-damaging behavior. It also teaches the patient how to calm his mind and body, so he can feel better, think more clearly, and make better decisions. Cognitive therapy teaches the client how certain thinking patterns are causing his symptoms. This is achieved by giving the client a distorted picture of what is going on in his or her life, and making the client feel anxious, depressed or angry for no good reason, or provoking him into ill-chosen actions. When combined into CBT, behavior therapy and cognitive therapy provide very powerful tools for stopping symptoms and getting life on a more satisfying track.

It is estimated that...