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Therapy for Depression: Which Approaches Work Best & Why?

Depression can be a very dark and difficult experience to navigate. If you are suffering from symptoms of depression or depressive episodes, it is crucial that you know you are not alone in your struggles. There are many ways you can treat your depression and people are there to help. Of course, there is no ‘one size fits all’ when it comes to treatment, but these therapy methods we will cover are ones that are proven to be effective forms of treatment.

Therapy is a great option for dealing with symptoms of depression because it can help you get to the root of your problems. Talking with someone makes you feel supported, so when you are working through your struggles with your therapist, it will allow you to find ways to cope and give you the help you need.

How do we know therapy works for treating depression? A study published in PLOS Medicine. This study was done by a team of international researchers who discovered that there are 7 psychotherapy techniques that are particularly effective in treating depression. The researchers analyzed 198 randomized-controlled trials in published studies that involved over 15,000 patients receiving 1 of the 7 types of psychotherapy. They analyzed all sizes of trials but found in larger trials that 3 of the methods had the best results. These are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Interpersonal Therapy, and Problem Solving Therapy.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

The CBT approach is usually short term (6 weeks-4 months) and focused on setting/achieving goals. This therapy method centers around the idea that our thoughts affect our emotions. When we only focus on the negative aspects of life, we are more likely to feel negatively about ourselves and our outcomes. These thoughts can then contribute to depression symptoms and make it worse. It becomes a vicious cycle that is hard to break. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy helps people identify those thought patterns and turn them into positive ones. This then improves your mood and helps you shake those depression symptoms.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)

Feelings of depression can be made worse by interpersonal conflict and a lack of social support. This type of therapy focuses on addressing past and present social roles, as well as interpersonal interactions. You and your therapist will choose one or two problem areas to focus on during the course of treatment. Similar to CBT, IPT is a brief form of therapy and examines your relationships with the important people in your life. The goal is

to figure out the role these strong relationships play in your life and work to resolve the conflicts within them. Roleplay is a common method therapists use for you to work on improving and practicing your communication skills. The hope is that by practicing these techniques, you will be able to apply them more effectively in your actual relationships and build stronger support networks.

Problem Solving Therapy (PST)

The Problem Solving Therapy method’s goal is to define your ‘problems’, find a variety of solutions for each problem and select, implement, and evaluate the best solution for you. This can feel very ‘trial and error’, but it is all about actively working to fix the problems in your life that bring on those feelings of depression. This approach can take more time, but if you are committed, you will be able to identify specifics in your life that contribute to your depression and resolve them with active solutions.

Psychodynamic Therapy (DYN)

The idea behind psychodynamic therapy is that depression occurs because of unresolved, unconscious conflicts that typically originate from childhood. The goal of DYN is that patients will be able to come more aware of their emotions (including troubling or difficult ones) and be able to cope with these feelings in a helpful way. This method is typically longer and less focused. You will work to find connections in your past experiences and see how those events could contribute towards your feelings of depression. Psychodynamic Therapy is also great for building your self-awareness and being more in touch with your emotions.

Supportive Counseling (SUP)

Supportive Counseling is an unstructured type of psychotherapy without any specific psychological techniques other than ones common to all approaches. This to say, it centers around helping people talk about their experiences and feelings and provide empathy. This approach can last for as long as you would like and be as specific as you would like. Your therapist will be there to support you and listen to you in order to work through your feelings of depression.

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

As one can easily assume, MBCT is a relatively new therapeutic method that combines two older approaches: Cognitive Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Therapy. The use of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) techniques is proven to be a ​very effective treatment approach for​ depression, anxiety, and many other psychological issues. In case you are interested in checking out purely CBT programs developed for anger management, take a look at the ones below, the effectiveness of which was already scientifically proven.

Emotional Focused Therapy (EFT)

Emotional Focused Therapy is centered around creating an awareness of your emotions and working to regulate and resolve them. You will be encouraged to work through your emotions and process them instead of suppressing them. For this reason, EFT is very effective in treating: depression, social anxiety, eating disorders, relationship problems, interpersonal conflicts, and trauma.

This journey can be difficult, but it is one that is incredibly rewarding. It all starts with finding a therapist you can trust and depend on. So make sure you are ready to start this process with someone you are comfortable with. Psychotherapy needs to be a supportive experience that makes you feel safe, regardless of the method you choose. Depression can be difficult to talk about, so it is essential to work with someone who makes you feel supported. If you find that a certain person or technique is not the right one for you, do not be afraid to try out a different method or therapist. Be honest with yourself and your therapist; they might have a better recommendation or referral for you. Together, we can take mental health seriously and make important changes to find the right therapy method(s) to treat your depression.

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