Interpersonal Therapy Vs Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Essay

Although, for depression that is not extremely severe, therapy alone seems to be the best option. Psychotherapy — talking out how to fix problems and cope with depression — can be an influential intervention. Going through therapy can take weeks, months, sometimes even years to complete. According to Dryden-Edwards, two major approaches are commonly used to treat teen depression: interpersonal therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy (5). With interpersonal therapy, the therapist emphasizes that depression is a common illness and that most people can expect to get better with treatment. The therapist will also define problems and help the depressed patient address ways to solve these problems. With cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the therapist uses three techniques — didactic, cognitive, and behavioral components — to help alleviate depression and reduce the likelihood it will come back (Dryden-Edwards 5). Going through CBT helps the teen change his or her way of thinking about certain issues through the different phases used. The didactic component of CBT sets up optimistic presumptions for therapy, encouraging the patient to follow through

“ECT is a medical treatment most commonly used for patients with severe major depression or bipolar disorder who have not responded to other treatments. It involves a brief electrical stimulation of the brain while the patient is under anesthesia” (“What is Depression?”). On average, a patient receives ECT two to three times a week for three to six weeks, totaling six to twelve treatments. According to the American Psychiatric Association, ECT has been used since the 1940s, and significant improvements have been made to it from years of research. It is usually managed by a team of trained medical professionals including a psychiatrist, an anesthesiologist and a nurse or physician