Therapy

• Therapy options for individuals with depressive disorder are constantly evolving. The four main types of therapy are: interpersonal therapy, cognitive behavioral, psychoanalytic therapy and family therapy.
  Interpersonal therapy explores the current behaviors and factors that are affecting an individual. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is a treatment method that educates the depressed individual how to change their perspective to be more positive in their current situation. Psychotherapy focuses on the depressed individual's past, and unconscious and historical reasons as to why the patient is depressed. Family therapy is not the primary treatment method for depression, but it is useful when depression is affecting familial relationships or when an individual's depression is possibly being promoted and maintained by a familial relationship or interactive patterns.
  
  

Medication

• For individuals who have severe depressive disorder, antidepressant medications can be highly effective, often to the point of decreasing suicide and hospitalization rates associated with depressive disorder. There is some question as to how effective antidepressants are for those who are mildly depressed.
  Once depressive symptoms subside, health-care professionals will often have the individual continue to take the antidepressant for 16 to 20 weeks to minimize the possibility of recurrence. Individuals with chronic depression may need to take anti-depressants for life.
  
  

Light Therapy

• Light therapy is particularly effective for those who have seasonal affective disorder, which is a form of depression in which an individual experiences normal moods during certain seasons, but experiences chronic periods of low mood during other seasons, usually winter. During light therapy, the individual sits by a light box that emits a light that is not found in normal indoor lighting for a particular amount of time for a particular number of days each week.
  
  

Exercise

• Health-care professionals have found that exercising three to five days a week for thirty minutes can significantly improve an individual's mood. No one is quite sure why exercise is so effective in relieving symptoms of depression, though one common theory is that it increases endorphins and raises mood-enhancing neurotransmitters to the brain.
  
  

Electroconvulsive Therapy

• Electroconvulsive therapy is only used in cases of severe depressive disorder in which the individual has chronic depression and has not responded to antidepressant medications, or are considered to be at a high risk for hurting themselves or others. During electroconvulsive therapy, pulses of electricity are sent through the brain, inducing a seizure. This elevates "feel good chemicals" in the brain, e.g., serotonin, dopamine and nor-epinephrine. Electroconvulsive therapy is controversial -- many individuals who undergo this treatment report short-term memory loss; some individuals report permanent memory loss. Headaches and disorientation may also occur.
  
  

Combining Treatments

• It is common for several treatments to be used together to treat those who are depressed.
  The most common combination is that of antidepressants and therapy. Exercise is also encouraged as a part of this combination. To determine what course of action is best for the individual's needs, it is necessary to meet with a qualified health-care provider for a diagnosis and treatment program.