How Psychotherapy Helps People Recover From Depression

Depression is on the rise in India and in the world. It is estimated that one in nine people in the world is suffering from depression today, and the numbers are climbing every year. Depression is real, and many people fail to recognize the signs and symptoms. 

People aware of the symptoms can help themselves or someone they know who might be going through it. There are many ways to deal with depression, and psychologists offer a plethora of options based on the patient. 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), depression psychotherapy, dialectical behavioral therapy, etc, are some of the methods that are used by psychologists to treat and help depression patients to cope with depression. 

Depression can have debilitating effects on a person and can completely crumble their personal and social relationships. It is important for patients to seek some kind of attention either medically or through friends and family. 

What is Depression? 

Depression is a mental disorder and is caused either due to a traumatic event in life or some behavioral issues that a person may have. Often people who undergo depression have been victims of post-traumatic stress that pushes them over to depression. 

Depression is like a black hole, is what most patients describe it. Once a person is pulled into it, a force keeps pulling in, and the patient might not have any say in it. It’s like a force that keeps pulling in no matter how much a patient struggles. 

It is clear from this anecdote that those who deal with depression have no means of fighting it and therefore need help to cope with it effectively. Depression can arise from relationship issues, loss of a loved one, work-related issues, high-stress levels, toxic relationships and even postpartum for women who go through childbirth. 

So people are more at risk of developing depression than others. The risk factors for developing depression are:

• Those who had depression before 
• Those who had a loss of a loved one or family member
• Those who underwent traumatic episodes such as accidents, war, abusive relationships, etc.
• Those who have had first-degree family members with depression
• Jobs with high-stress level

These are some of the risk factors associated with depression and people who check one or more criteria in this list must be cautious and look out for signs. Early diagnosis of depression can help patients overcome the disorder more easily and with minimal risk of relapse. 

Psychotherapy for Depression

Depression Psychotherapy is an effective tool that has been designed after several years of research by Psychologists all over the world. Depression Psychotherapy uses a variety of methods to help overcome depression by understanding the psychology of patients and providing effective therapy. There are many methods to do so, such as –

• CBT

Cognitive Behavioural therapy is one of the best ways to combine cognitive and behavioral therapy together and help patients by eliminating negative thoughts and actions linked to such negative thoughts.

• DBT

Dialectical behavior therapy focuses on dialogues or conversations that help the patients express their feelings and acknowledge them. 

• Group Therapy

Group therapy offers excellent support as people can help each other and have higher chances of recovering together 

• Couples and Family Therapy

Sometimes, therapy is to be given to the couple or to the entire family to address issues at the grassroot levels causing people to have depression.