Interpersonal Psychotherapy Essay

There are various treatments for Janet to help her deal with her current scenario. One treatment is psychotherapy. This therapy is effective because it allows a person to talk about their condition and adjust to stressful events. It also helps people replace negative thoughts with more positive ones. Lastly, it helps individuals increase their self-esteem, gain control of their life, and find better coping skills. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the most effect evidence-based approaches to treat depression include cognitive-behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy. (“Questions and Answers…’, 2007).

In cognitive-behavioral therapy, therapists focus on increasing activities and elevating mood, challenging automatic thoughts, identifying negative thinking, and changing primary attitudes. In interpersonal psychotherapy is focused on clarifying and changing one-s interpersonal problems such as interpersonal role dispute and interpersonal loss. In the textbook, cognitive –behavioral therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy research proves the effectiveness in the treatment of unipolar depression. According to the

According to a study done by NIMH shows that the differences in people’s responses to antidepressant medication is thought to be based on differences in their genes (“Success or Failure…”2007). For example, people with the gene variation GRIK4 were 23% more likely to respond to citalopram than people without the gene. Even though some antidepressants like Tricyclics help 65% of patients, there is no way to determine which medication would work best with a patient’s body unless they try it. Medications take weeks to exert their full effect and by the time the right medication is found, the patient’s depressive symptoms may worsen. Also, unless Janet does maintenance therapy and continues with the medication, there is a chance of