Treatment for Depression
Depression is a condition that can affect anyone. Depending on the severity, Depression can be debilitating and, in some circumstances, affects our everyday life. If you’re reading this page, you might have already begun a search for support and specific treatment. You will notice that some of the treatments overlap with those for anxiety.
In addition to general counselling approaches, specific psychological treatments for depression include:
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) to help us notice patterns of unhelpful thoughts and beliefs, such that we can make changes to our emotions and behaviours by adopting more beneficial beliefs or changing our thinking styles
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which helps us change our relationship with our emotions and challenges, and to improve psychological flexibility through building skills such as Mindfulness, Acceptance, Defusion, making value-based actions etc.
Interpersonal Therapy (IPT), which focuses on our relationship patterns and developing the skills or resources to improve this important domain of our mental wellness
Behaviour Therapy which focuses on changing behaviour or our choice of activity via healthy rewards and reducing unhelpful behaviour such as avoidance, withdrawal of inactivity, all of which can perpetuate depression
Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) focuses on developing skills based on mindfulness and engagement in the present moment, without judgement or attempt to change it
Other formats of therapy which can be helpful, such as Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy and long-term psychodynamics or insight-oriented therapy
These treatments are often delivered by trained clinicians. If you want to find out more, you can contact us to discuss which clinicians might be suitable for your needs.
Frequently Asked Questions
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There are various evidence-based psychological therapies that would be suitable to treat Depression, such as CBT, ACT, Schema Therapy, Mindfulness‑based therapies etc. Usually, your psychologist provides an initial assessment to collaborate with you on which approaches might suit you best, based on your needs and circumstances. It is a dynamic process and the therapeutic approach may also change throughout your therapy journey.
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Sadness is a natural and valuable emotion that serves important functions in our lives. It signals experiences of loss, grief, and other complex life circumstances. It communicates important messages to ourselves, such as something valuable or important is lost or missing, and often signals a need for comfort and support.
When sadness begins to cause distress, and / or significantly interfere with daily functioning for at least 2 weeks, we can consider looking into Depression. Factors to look out for include persistent physical symptoms such as ongoing fatigue, loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities, changes in sleep or appetite, and / or thoughts of self-harm or suicide etc. If you experience the above symptoms, it is important to speak to a professional to discuss support options.
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Everyone’s therapy journey and goals are different, and the length of therapy varies significantly based on your individual circumstance.
Generally, your psychologist will do an assessment to understand your needs and what you are going through at the beginning of therapy. The assessment phase usually takes about 1 - 2 sessions.
Depending on the complexity of your concerns, some people may start to make some small changes in the next few sessions.
It is important to acknowledge that improving emotional wellbeing and changing patterns of longstanding behaviours takes time. A good analogy of therapy is physical fitness. It takes time and consistency to train our body and build muscle strength, and we don’t necessarily feel “relaxed or better” after every single session to ensure efficacy.