Psychotherapy

There are a wide number of different types of effective therapeutic approaches utilized for the treatment of depression today. These range from cognitive behavioral therapy, to behavioral therapy (ala Lewinsohn), to interpersonal therapy, to rational emotive therapy, to family and psychodynamic approaches. Both individual and group modalities are commonly used, depending upon the severity of the depressive episode and the local resources within an individual’s community.

Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) and Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS)

Ectroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the treatment of last resort for severe, chronic depressive symptoms. ECT is never the initial treatment for depression and there are serious questions regarding memory loss which have yet to be adequately answered by the research literature. Please see ECT.org for more information about ECT. rTMS (below) is now the preferred treatment method over ECT.

JOURNEY TO IMPROVEMENT

If you happen to recognize symptoms of depression in yourself, the key is not to let worry take over. In fact, recognizing symptoms is an essential step on the road to feeling like oneself again.

This website is here to help you reconnect with the person you once were and the quality of life you once enjoyed. The following steps are especially important:

Depression Screening Test

Use this brief 18-question online automated quiz to help you determine
if you may need to see a mental health professional for diagnosis
and treatment of depression, or for tracking your depression on a regular basis.

Depression and High School Students

Depression can occur during adolescence, a time of great personal change. You may be facing changes in where you go to school, your friends, your after-school activities, as well as in relationships with your family members. You may have different feelings about the type of person you want to be, your future plans, and may be making decisions for the first time in your life.

Middle-Age Women Have Highest Rate of Depression

One in eight middle-age women in the United States has depression, a new report finds.
This means that women ages 40 to 59 have the highest rate of depression (12.3 percent) of any group based on age and gender in the U.S., according to the report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Unhappiness by the Numbers: 2012 Depression Statistics

As if depression weren’t bad enough, statistics show that diagnoses are growing at an alarming rate. In addition, states with higher rates of depression also show high rates of other negative health outcomes, such as obesity, heart disease, and stroke. Individuals suffering from depression are more likely to be