What Therapy Should a Psychologist Use to Treat Depression?

Depressive disorders are among the most disabling psychopathologies and have a greater potential to, in the most severe cases, lead to suicide or suicide attempts.

Due to this, for decades there has been research into what are psychotherapeutic intervention techniques and modalities to help people who have developed depressive disorders. Let’s see what they consist of.

What are the main characteristics of depressive disorders?

A key aspect to intervene psychologically in patients who suffer from a depressive disorder is to understand the logic through which these psychopathologies operate, and the frequent experiences that these types of patients usually go through.

Although the experiences of people with a depressive disorder can change from one individual to another, these are the main characteristics that we can find in disorders of this type.

1. General sadness

The feeling of intense and generalized sadness in all areas of the person’s life is one of the main characteristics that all depressive disorders share and one of the symptoms that has the greatest impact on the person’s daily life.

This feeling of sadness usually has levels high enough to completely disrupt a person’s daily life its relationship with the environment and attention to all types of responsibilities.

Sadness is frequently accompanied by the urge to cry, a feeling of emptiness or loneliness, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, and very catastrophic thoughts about the future. Now, especially in the most severe cases, sadness can be replaced by what we will see below.

2. Lack of interest and emotional flattening

The progressive decrease in the interest of people with depression in what life can offer them is reflected in an attitude of indifference and problems feeling pleasure or satisfaction in anything; In the same way, it is also common that this limitation of the range of emotions makes the person not feel very sad, but instead expresses feeling in a limbo in which nothing matters and in any case boredom and hopelessness predominate. These are not as visible symptoms as sadness or sudden mood changes, which is why many cases of this type go unnoticed.

The person with depression will gradually begin to show less desire to do everything they did before the disorder: from playing sports or meeting friends to going to the movies or practicing their favorite hobby.

Both the lack of interest in the world around the person with depression and the generalized sadness mentioned above often prevent the person from being able to carry out the most basic daily activities such as getting out of bed, showering, eating, going to school or going to school. work.

3. Tiredness

Tiredness and loss of energy can also be associated with a case of depressive disorder, due to the feeling of emptiness existing in the person and the loss of vital incentives that can motivate us.

In addition to that, people with depression tend to decrease their physical activity and also their levels of effectiveness and productivity at work.

4. Hopelessness

Desperation and negative or restless thoughts are the daily bread for many people with depression who interpret their existence as a bottomless cesspool in which there is no hope or expectation of ever being happy.

5. Low self-esteem

The self-esteem of people with depressive disorders is one of the aspects that is most affected by this disorder, and with the greatest capacity to make the disorder self-reinforcing.

Depression decisively affects a person’s perception of themselves to the point of perceiving oneself as incapable or useless to carry out any activity successfully, or to achieve positive relationships with anyone.

6. Suicidal ideations

The entire set of symptoms related to depression end up promoting very negative feelings in the person, and in the most serious cases, suicidal ideations, especially in people who feel alone and helpless.

In many cases it happens that the person verbalizes or communicates this type of suicidal ideation and intention to someone close.

7. Trouble concentrating

The main cognitive alterations experienced by people with depression are a decrease in attention at work and on some occasions, also the ability to remember content related to short-term memory.

In addition to that, the ability to make decisions in any area of ​​life, both personal and professional, is also diminished.

8. Irritability

Irritability, sudden mood changes and general bad mood can also indicate that we are dealing with a case of depressive disorder, especially if it occurs in people who previously had a completely different behavior.

Likewise, and in more serious cases of depression, excessive anger and even violent reactions triggered by frustration.

9. Tendency towards isolation

Self-imposed social isolation and progressive avoidance of social activities with friends, coworkers or family are also a sign that there may be a case of depression.

This happens because the depressed person increasingly reduces their social activities and locks themselves in their home, thus causing their depressive symptoms to become increasingly greater due to the lack of stimuli and sources of motivation that predispose the person to get involved in projects. and exciting and meaningful activities.

10. Change in eating patterns

Mood alterations with psychopathological roots frequently affect the way a person relates to food, which can, in turn, trigger the appearance of other disorders.

Some changes in eating habits that people with depressive disorders may experience range from loss of appetite to compulsive overeating.

That is why depression is usually associated with both a drastic reduction in body weight and a sudden increase in it.

What psychotherapeutic strategies are effective against depressive disorders?

There is no single form of psychotherapy that constitutes the only remedy for depression, among other things because this pathology is complex and multicausal and presents several fronts in which it is necessary to intervene. Now, practically all of the therapeutic resources used in patients with these disorders arise from the trunk of behavioral and cognitive-behavioral therapies, which in recent years have also given rise to what is known as Third Generation Therapies.

In this sense, the main forms of psychological intervention that have been shown to be effective in helping to overcome a depressive disorder are the following:

Do you want to train in the treatment of depressive disorders?

If you are thinking of specializing in the field of psychotherapy for this type of psychopathology, the Postgraduate Course in Depressive Disorders offered Mediterranean School of Psychology it is perfect for you.

This 500-hour online training program is an efficient and economical way to learn the theoretical and practical aspects of intervention in people suffering from disorders such as major depression, dysthymia, Destructive Mood Dysregulation Disorder and others. Mood alterations with a high impact on the quality of life of the individual and their loved ones.

All this starting from a modality completely adapted from its roots to learning through the Internet, with access to textual and audiovisual teaching material 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and technical assistance and through personalized tutoring. To find out more, contact the Mediterranean School of Psychology team.