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Written by the OrganizedWisdom Team with as the reviewer. All original content is supervised by the The OrganizedWisdom Medical Review Team
Will talk therapy help my depression?
Answered by:
Diplomate, American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
There are lots of different psychological therapies. None have been proven to be "better" than any other, and so it is more a question of finding a therapy and therapist that suit you. The most common kinds of psychological therapies are:
Cognitive Therapy: How you think largely determines how you feel; when you are depressed, you feel very negative. Cognitive therapy works by challenging these negative thought patterns, and suggesting changes to destructive behavior.
Interpersonal Therapy: This focuses on your relationships with other people. It teaches you how to communicate more effectively and improve your view of yourself.
Psychodynamic Therapy: This helps people to understand past conflicts, release aggression and reduce feelings of guilt or inadequacy.
Counseling: The term refers to a wide range of techniques and approaches, some of which draw from the above therapies. As a general rule, counseling offers people the opportunity to talk through issues in their everyday lives that may be contributing towards their depression, rather than aiming to treat more deep-rooted problems.
Dr. Padder is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. He is currently medical director of two mental health clinics in Columbia, Maryland, and a consulting psychiatrist at Howard County General Hopsital, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins Medicine. Write to Dr. Padder at tanveerpadder@gmail.com.
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