What is Depression?

An Introduction to Depression

One way to think of Depression is to think of it as a focus on the past. When we feel depressed, we have the sense that something has occurred that has taken away our ability to lead a happy life—now or in the future. If we are only slightly depressed, we feel slightly unhappy and unhopeful. The more depressed we are, the more unhappy and unhopeful we feel.

Depression treatment

Rigorous research studies regarding the effectiveness of various types of psychotherapy have consistently confirmed that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is an excellent treatment for Depression. The core of CBT work for depression is an analysis of the way in which a person who feels depressed has come to view his/her life experiences plus the behaviors that the person has become accustomed to exhibiting in certain situations. Effective treatment will enable the client to develop alternative ways of reacting. The key goal is change. Clients are most successful when they embrace the following simple, yet fundamental, behavioral truth.

The video below discusses a metaphor often used with clients in the process of recovering from depression. 

Change is achieved, first and foremost, by changing.

In order to achieve this, the client must find a therapist

• who can be trusted

• who seems capable and

• who is actively engaged in the client’s growth process

This work demands a very high level of collaboration between the client and the psychotherapist. If this is achieved, the benefits are invaluable. Together, the client and psychotherapist devise new ways that the client can respond to that client’s inner and outer worlds.