The Psychodynamic Theories Of Depression

Depression has no single cause, it can develop for and about different reasons and has many different triggers. It can be an upsetting or stressful life event. For example, a divorce or break up, illness, and job and or school concerns can create a perfect situation for depression to settle itself into a victim’s mind. The psychodynamic approach to therapy aims to bring the unconscious mind into consciousness. In other words, the goal of therapy is to bring these unconscious conflicts into awareness by helping individuals to unravel, experience and understand their true, deep-rooted feelings. Moreover, the psychodynamic view of therapy believes that our unconscious holds onto painful feelings and memories, that are too difficult for the aware

part of the mind to process. A possible cause for George’s depression maybe that somewhere in the past George experienced a sad and traumatic event. An example of this can be a divorce his parents had during his childhood, and in the midst of the bickering and disagreement George found himself not worthy for his parents’ love and affection. A psychodynamic therapist may encourage George to say whatever is going through his mind. They will also work with George to help understand his thoughts, feelings, relationships, behaviour, dreams and fantasies. This will help him become aware of hidden meanings or patterns in what he says or does that may be contributing to his depression and triggering these past deep-rooted memories.

Humanistic Therapy
The humanistic therapy works by taking a whole-person approach to problems. Furthermore, it uses a range of theories and practices to help some develop. These therapies explore your relationship with different parts of yourself such as your body, mind, emotions, behaviour and spirit, and other people like your family, friends, society, and or culture support you to grow and live life to the full. A therapist that specializes in the humanistic approach may believe that George is causing you yourself to be depressed and maybe blow something out of proportion. As a result, a humanist therapist will leave the “driving wheel” and let George buckle into the driver’s seat and take control of his own therapy. As a result, they will encourage George to talk about how he feels and his progress to well, not being depressed.

Behavioral Therapy
Behavioral therapy is more focused on human behaviour and looks to eradicate and extinguish unwanted or behavior. Typically this type of therapy is used for those with behavioral problems or mental disorders such as anxiety, addictions, phobias, and OCD. Furthermore, the basis of behavioral therapy is that all behavior is learned and faulty learning is the cause of abnormal behavior. And finally, behavior can be both learned and unlearned. Behavioural therapists will look at thoughts and feelings that lead to the behaviour or occur as a result of the behaviour to understand it on a deeper level. They will also look at observable stimuli and reactions or responses. If George were to go to a behavioral therapist, his therapist would concentrate on what stimuli makes George more and more upset, and what seems that he has learned and become accustomed to be sad. Furthermore, they will analyze his behavior and draw an emotional connection that links to his depression. And finally a therapist may assume, George has learned to be depressed and sad, instead of outside forces moving in, or his mind transitioning to be depressed.

Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive therapy is a talking therapy that can help George manage his problems by changing the way he thinks and behaves.

However, it doesn’t remove problems, but it will help George deal with his said problems in a more positive way. It is based on the concept that your thoughts, feelings, physical sensations and actions are interconnected, and that negative thoughts and feelings can trap you in a vicious cycle. This therapy aims to help George crack this cycle by breaking down overwhelming problems into smaller parts and showing him how to change these negative patterns to improve the way he feels. Since it assumes that how George thinks, will color and initiate a way that he will perceive the world, that however George thinks of the world, cause him to be depressed because he sees no good, or happiness in the world, and the therapist will strive to break these thinking

habits.

Biomedical Therapy
Biomedical therapies are physical and or medical treatments such as drug therapy, electroconvulsive therapy, or psychosurgery.

These treatments are used to treat mental or psychological disorders.
Drug therapies rely on medication for the treatment of mental disorders. Therapeutic drugs for psychological problems fall into three major groups, anti-anxiety drugs, antipsychotic drugs and antidepressants. The biomedical approach to treatment is based on the assumption that if a mental problem is caused by biological malfunctioning, the cure is to restore the biological system with drugs. For example, the serotonin hypothesis of depression suggests that depression is linked to low levels of the neurotransmitter, serotonin. Antidepressant treatment should therefore aim to regulate serotonin levels.
Another biologically based treatment that continues to be used, although infrequently, is electroconvulsive therapy. It involves using an electrical current to induce seizures in the brain in order to help alleviate the effects of certain mental conditions, such as severe forms of depression or bipolar disorder. The exact mechanism is unknown, although it does help alleviate symptoms for people with severe depression who have not responded to traditional drug therapy. However, the memory loss associated with repeated administrations has led to it typically being implemented as a last

resort.