Cognitive Therapy

In addition to focusing on physical health to alleviate symptoms of depression, sufferers of depression would also highly benefit from focusing on strengthening their own thought process. This is not to suggest that sufferers of severe, major depressive disorder can simply “wish” their illness away with “happy thoughts.” Studies have, however, proven the vast benefits of cognitive therapy as a more natural treatment for depression. According to Nature Reviews: Neuroscience, a health journal, “Studies have shown that cognitive therapy is as efficacious as antidepressant medications at treating depression, and it seems to reduce the risk of relapse even after its discontinuation” (Derubeis). While antidepressants can be effective, they don’t

Perhaps it works, perhaps it doesn’t. Though the two patients have their own unique, individual thought process, and are thus affected differently by their depression, the antidepressant they are given is the exact same chemical makeup. While it may work for one patient, it may have no affect whatsoever on the other. Now, consider cognitive therapy. Both patients with depression, upon visiting a trained therapist, will be given treatment that is tailored to their own individual needs and their own unique mindsets. Each will get the individualized care they need. Not only will this help them cope with their own depression, which affects each sufferer in a different way, but it will also give them training in how to deal with their depression. It will give them their own individual “toolkit,” so to speak, that they will be able to use for their entire lives, not just until a prescription runs out. Evidence of the success of cognitive therapy over antidepressants is seen in a study conducted by the British Journal of Psychiatry. 64 patients who were screened for major depression participated in the trial, and were randomly chosen to receive either cognitive therapy, antidepressants, or

When doctors assess the diet, exercise regimen, and therapeutically needs of patients before prescribing an antidepressant, they are giving patients more power and control over their own mental well-being. Drs. Dietrich, Katon, and Schwenk of the American Academy of Family Physicians all agree that it is important for patients to actively try to promote changes in their health. They state