Depression:
The NICE guidelines recommended cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) as one of the main treatment interventions for depression. During your treatment your therapist will assess the components of your depression and they will work with you to set goals and develop a formulation of the problem. This formulation will provide information about your depression and common patterns of beliefs, thought processes and behaviours that maintain your mood. The therapist will use this information to develop a bespoke treatment plan, targeting symptoms and unhelpful cognitive and behavioural patterns. You will work with your therapist to challenge disruptive beliefs and behaviours with the goal to form more balanced perspectives and reactions. Your therapist may also recommend that a family member, partner or friend attend a session, to help them understand ways to support you. Relapse maintenance will form an important aspect of your treatment, to help maintain the gains you have achieved during therapy.
What to look out for:
Depressed mood or a loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities for more than two weeks (outside of normal state).
Decreased interest or pleasuring in doing usual activities.
Difficulty with sleep, particularly sleeping too much and not feeling refreshed.
Feeling unusually tired, with little energy, despite adequate sleep.
Experiencing unusual loss of appetite or overeating.
Excessive self-critical thoughts, feeling like a failure or that you have let others down.
Difficulty with concentration or poor memory and focus.
Thoughts of being better off dead, self-harm or suicide.
Treatment FOCUS
Type: CBT
Sessions: 12+
Length: 50 mins
Treatment Focus:
Assessment
Goal Setting
Formulation
Behavioural Activation
Thought Monitoring
Thought challenging/restructuring
Thinking distortions
Behavioural Experiments
Belief modification
Family Involvement
Relapse Prevention
Links
NICE Guidelines for Depression
https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/cg90/chapter/1-Guidance#stepped-care
Samaritans
NHS
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/clinical-depression/
Depression UK
