There are generally two different classes of treatment options for those diagnosed with depression: psychotherapy and medication.Great strides have been made in the fields of pharmaceutical medicine in the last few decades, offering anti-depressant drugs to millions of people who now take them regularly. However, recent studies have shown that some such drugs may not have ever worked better than placebos. Add to that the major side effects of some of the most popular anti-depressant medications, and you have a difficult decision for both care-givers and patients, alike. It is not uncommon for people to avoid seeking treatment specifically because they know their insurance company won’t pay for treatment other than pharmaceutical drugs.
Drugs are very often prescribed when there are physical manifestation of depression symptoms or if there is an extenuating physical reason why drugs are the best course of action. For example, bi polar depression is one type of depression that is usually treated with drugs, given the severity and complexity of the problem. While there are quite a few different causes of depression – several of which may be in play at any given moment depending on innumerable personal factors that can be all but impossible to tease out into individual causes.
Of course, that is not to say that psychotherapy doesn’t work. In about six months of sessions, most people report being “helped” by a therapist. However, unlike a given prescription medication, not all therapists are equal. Frankly, some therapists aren’t very good at getting to the root of what is keeping people depressed – some therapists are much better at making clients feel good in the short term.
Also, therapy requires the patient to actively participate in their own recovery. This is done partly through talking things out and partly by actually making changes to one’s own life that are significant enough to have an impact. Eventually, depression symptoms become a thing of the past as those negative thought patterns are slowly replaced by more worthwhile internal dialog.
Regardless of the actual causes of depression that bring people in to seek the advice of mental health professionals, most causes of depression have treatment options that include both pharmaceuticals and therapy. In all but a few select cases that have a very specific treatment regimen, such as bi polar depression and other disorders that seem to have a very physical or genetic component.
That said, most insurance companies look at the equation from a purely fiscal standpoint – it’s much cheaper to take a pill than to pay someone to listen to you for months or years on end. In the case of most types of depression, medication is considered a cost-effective option, even if it isn’t deemed medically necessary.
Many medical practitioners chafe at the idea of a “bean counter” telling well-trained physicians and councilors how to do their job in the best interest of the patient. By the same token, there are also plenty of free items that the representatives of drug companies bring with them while visiting physicians and nurse practitioner.
The third, though largely obscure way to treat depression of all types is to use medicinal herbs and flowers to get well. Though a combination of of therapies, it is hoped that the herbal remedies will become good enough to compare favorably with the more commonly used options. These can be prescribed and prepared by just about anyone. They tend to be more preventative rather than curative, but over time, some “folk” remedies can be quite effective.
Either way, if you’re seeking assistance for depression, be sure to get the advice of at least one professional, but also take charge of the situation and take the curative route that works best for you.