Using Medication and Therapy for Depression

Are you feeling depressed and wondering what the best course of treatment is? Depression can be very confusing and there are several options out there for treatment. Part of the difficulty is understanding what even causes depression. Is it hereditary, is it biological, or is it based on experiences? The truth is that is can be any and all of these causes, and so it can be treated through a variety of methods. Research shows that the best results come from treating depression through both medication and therapy.

Benefits of Both Methods
Because of the multiple reasons for depression, a single form of treatment doesn’t have as high of a rate of recovery as both treatments together. For instance, if you only choose to use medication, you might start feeling better to a point, but then life happens and you might find yourself in an overwhelming situation without the coping skills to help prevent it from spiraling into severe depression. Also, you might only pursue therapy and find that coping skills and processing difficult thoughts and emotions help to a point, but the chemical imbalance might still need medications to get fully back to feeling yourself. I have seen individuals who have built coping skills and made positive adjustments in their life but when they aren't taking the proper medication will uncontrollably cry and withdraw from loved ones.

What If I Don't Want to Take Medication?
It is entirely your decision how you choose to treat your depression, and there are many people who are apprehensive about medications. I don't think medical treatment is for everyone with depression. There is situational depression which occurs when something significant happens in your life, like getting laid off, relocating, children leaving the household, and divorce. If you haven't experienced severe depression in the past and a situation causes you depression then you can likely treat it through therapy alone. Also, if the depression is at a level that you can manage it mostly through coping skills, then you might not need medication. However, if you find that you are constantly in a state of depression and have difficulty pinpointing the causes, then medication might aid in your treatment along with therapy.

James McMillian, MA, LCPC, NCC
Resolve - Counseling & Wellness
Prairie Village, KS

http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2014/08/23/depressed-you-should-be-in-therapy-taking-an-antidepressant/

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