In 1998, almost 54% of patients being treated for depression had some form of psychotherapy, compared to 43% in 2007.
Full Answer
How effective are psychotherapies in the treatment of adult depression?
Background: Although psychotherapies are effective in the treatment of adult depression it is not clear how this treatment effect is related to amount, frequency and intensity of therapy.
How common is combination psychotherapy for major depression?
Combination psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy (medication) for major depression is very common, both for acute and chronic forms of the disorder. Treatment with both modalities may begin simultaneously or be sequenced.
Are more people receiving treatment for depression?
This is a positive trend, as more people are receiving care, but 30 percent of people with depression are not receiving treatment. In addition, more people are self-medicating, for example with marijuana, which has not been shown to be effective for depression and in fact typically worsens depression.
How many sessions of psychotherapy do you need for depression?
Acute-phase treatment had a duration ranging from 6 to 29 sessions, while maintenance-phase psychotherapeutic interventions consisted of 6 to 20 sessions conducted either weekly, biweekly, or monthly. Both older and newer antidepressants were used, including amitriptyline, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, imipramine, nortriptyline, and sertraline.
What percentage of depressed people go to therapy?
A little bit over 69 percent of people reported getting treatment, 53 percent with medication, 62.5 percent through professional therapy, and almost 15 percent via non-professional support including self-help, support groups, and online.
What percentage of people benefit from psychotherapy?
About 75 percent of people who enter psychotherapy show some benefit from it. Psychotherapy has been shown to improve emotions and behaviors and to be linked with positive changes in the brain and body. The benefits also include fewer sick days, less disability, fewer medical problems, and increased work satisfaction.
What percentage of the population goes to therapy?
Summary. In 2019, 19.2% of U.S. adults received any mental health treatment in the past 12 months, including 15.8% who had taken prescription medication for their mental health and 9.5% who had received counseling or therapy from a mental health professional.
Is psychotherapy effective for treating depression?
Psychotherapy -- or "talk therapy" -- is an effective treatment for clinical depression. On its own, it may not be enough to treat severe depression. But it can play an important role when used with other treatments, including medications.
How effective is psychotherapy for did?
Intervention and Treatment While treatment for DID may take several years, it is effective. Persons with DID may find that they are better able to handle the symptoms in middle adulthood. Stress, substance abuse, and sometimes anger can cause a relapse of symptoms at any time.
When is psychotherapy most effective?
The results of psychotherapy tend to last longer than psychopharmacological treatments and rarely produce harmful side effects. While medication is appropriate in some instances, research shows that a combination of medication and psychotherapy is often most effective in treating depression and anxiety.
How many people seek therapy every year?
In 2020, around 41.4 million adults in the United States received treatment or counseling for their mental health within the past year.
Why don't more people go to therapy?
Fear of Failure We must consider that some people are afraid to go to therapy because they think it won't work or that it won't be able to help them. If they are already dealing with overwhelming feelings due to mental health issues, the thought of “failing” at something as simple as therapy can be daunting.
Is psychotherapy more effective than medication?
Research generally shows that psychotherapy is more effective than medications, and that adding medications does not significantly improve outcomes from psychotherapy alone.
What therapy is most successful in treating depression?
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) This form of therapy is considered by many to be the gold standard in depression treatment.
What is the gold standard treatment for depression?
Use of antidepressants is the gold standard therapy for major depression. However, despite the large number of commercially available antidepressant drugs there are several differences among them in efficacy, tolerability, and cost-effectiveness.
How is depression determined?
Depression was determined by a diagnostic interview or a predesignated cut-off score on a self-report measure. Studies were excluded if they examined bipolar disorder or depression in psychosis, people in hospital wards, or used comparison groups of self-guided support.
Is depression a mental illness?
David Hallford. Depression is a common mental health disorder and a leading cause of disability worldwide (World Health Organization, 2020). There is a clear scientific consensus that psychotherapy for depression is an effective treatment. Accordingly, psychotherapy is recommended in numerous national guidelines as a frontline, ...
Is psychotherapy evidence based?
Accordingly, psychotherapy is recommended in numerous national guidelines as a frontline, evidence-based treatment option . Key questions remain about who psychological treatments are likely to be most effective for, and which factors predict better outcomes.
Is psychotherapy effective in young adulthood?
It’s good knowing that as clinicians we can confidently tell adults suffering from depression that psychotherapy has good evidence backing up its effectiveness. In particular, it may be more effective in young adulthood. This is a time of increased engagement in developing one’s identity through social role changes and burgeoning world views. Therefore, people in this developmental stage might be particularly suited to benefiting from psychotherapy and its focus on self-reflection. This resonates with my experience in youth mental health services, and particularly given the increasingly good mental health literacy and awareness in younger generations in Australia.
Is psychotherapy a valid approach?
Overall, the relatively modest effects for children and adolescents do not rule psychotherapy out as a valid approach. However, they do indicate that there is more work to do on improving treatment of depression in this age group.
Is age 65 at risk for MDD?
Younger adults were at greater risk for MDD than adults over the age of 65, and lower income was associated with greater risk. Function was significantly impaired compared to those without depression, and was worse with greater severity and among those with MDD within the past 30 days.
Does MDD increase the risk of having all other co-occurring conditions?
It turns out that MDD increased the risk of having all other co-occurring conditions. For some conditions, such as generalized anxiety disorder, borderline personality disorder, and PTSD, the additional risk was close to double or more, while for other diagnoses the additional risk was smaller.
Why is psychotherapy important for depression?
Because major depression is a recurrent disorder, psychotherapy has the dual value of relieving current suffering and preventing future episode of distress.
When should therapy be started for depression?
Therapy should be started as soon as a diagnosis of depression is rendered. The longer an episode of depression goes untreated, the more difficult it becomes to treat, the greater the possibility of future episodes, and the greater the possibility of inflammatory changes to the brain itself.
How does therapy affect the brain?
Therapy gives people insight into how their own patterns of reactions to negative experience set off a downward spiral of thinking that lead to depression. It also fosters the development of coping skills that interrupt the chain of reactivity.
How long does it take for a psychotherapist to work?
Because psychotherapy can take many weeks to months to have an effect, psychotherapy is frequently prescribed along with medication for people needing relief from severe depression, although less than a third of patients respond to the first drug they’re given.
What part of the brain is affected by depression?
Untreated depression especially compromises the prefrontal cortex, the area of the brain essential for reasoning and decision-making and enabling control of emotional reactivity. Therapy helps patients develop the skills not just to beat back a current episode of depression but to prevent future ones as well.
What is depression therapy?
From one perspective, depression can be seen as a state of depletion that occurs when problems overwhelm a person’s resources for solution. Therapy aims directly at the development of new solution patterns.
What is good therapy?
Good therapy is like driver’s education for the mind. It enables people to understand what sets off their descent into depression and not only helps them develop suitable tools for finding their way out but teaches ways of regulating difficult emotions going forward. Clinicians and researchers have long known that a prime contributor ...
What is the best treatment for depression?
Several studies suggest, however, that the combination of an antidepressant and psychotherapy is the best approach, because of the complex mix of causes of mood disorders like depression. 1 . Psychotherapy is the process of treating psychological disorders with verbal and psychological techniques.
What professions offer psychotherapy?
While psychotherapy is its own professional field, other professionals offer this modality as well, including psychiatrists and clinical psychologists, substance abuse counselors, mental health counselors, marriage and family therapists, social workers, and psychiatric nurses.
How can psychotherapy be delivered?
In some cases, your treatment may incorporate two or more formats, such as meeting individually with your therapist followed by the occasional group session where you can practice new skills with others. Common approaches to psychotherapy include:
How does cognitive therapy affect emotions?
Cognitive Therapy. At the heart of cognitive therapy is the idea that our thoughts can affect our emotions. For example, if we choose to look for the silver lining in every experience, we will be more likely to feel good, as opposed to if we only focus on the negative . Negative thoughts can contribute to and exacerbate depression.
How many people are in a group therapy session?
Group therapy: Group therapy generally involves anywhere from three to 15 people. It offers everyone the opportunity to give and receive group support in coping with their particular issues and gives therapists the chance to observe how participants interact in group settings.
How long does cognitive therapy last?
Cognitive therapy usually lasts between six weeks to four months. 3 .
How does cognitive therapy help you feel better?
It's hard to feel good when you're stuck in a constant loop of negative thoughts. Cognitive therapy helps people learn to identify common patterns of negative thinking (known as cognitive distortions) and to turn those negative thought patterns into more positive ones, thus improving mood. 2 . Cognitive therapy is usually short-term ...
Why is primary care important for teens?
Primary care providers are a valuable link for many depressed teens who seek relief from their symptoms. Awareness of teens’ developmentally appropriate desires to be normal, connected, and autonomous can improve the care of teens who seek services in primary care.
Do adolescents prefer medical or non-medical help?
Although adolescents are aware of both medical and non-medical help agents (e.g., physicians and school counselors) and are aware of how to access them, they also prefer non-medical interventions (e.g., high school counselor) to entering treatment with a medical professional (Offer et al., 1991).
Methods
Results
- A large number of trials were included in the review, with 366 studies including 453 comparisons between treatment and control groups, and a total of 36,702 patients. Relative to middle-aged and older adults, relatively fewer studies were found for children (13 years and younger; 13 studies, 3.6%), adolescents (13 – 18 years; 24 studies, 6.6%), and...
Conclusions
- Acknowledging the limitations of the study, the authors “cautiously conclude”that psychological therapies for depression may not be as effective for children or adolescents, relative to adults, and might be more effective for young adults. Further, they suggest that psychotherapy might be stable in terms of effectiveness beyond early adulthood.
Strengths and Limitations
- This study had a large of number of trials to compare, which is a definite strength. However, including so many different studies with different characteristics and attempting to compare them in a meaningful way is tricky. Meta-analysis can be a very blunt instrument of assessment. It’s unclear why some of the findings did not persist when controlling for study characteristics. An i…
Implications For Practice
- It is heartening to see that psychological treatment may remain effective to a similar degree across adulthood. It’s good knowing that as clinicians we can confidently tell adults suffering from depression that psychotherapy has good evidence backing up its effectiveness. In particular, it may be more effective in young adulthood. This is a time of increased engagement in developi…
Links
- Primary paper
Cuijpers, P., Karyotaki, E., Eckshtain, D., Ng, M. Y., Corteselli, K. A., Noma, H., … & Weisz, J. R. (2020). Psychotherapy for depression across different age groups: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Psychiatry. Doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2020.0164 - Other references
World Health Organization (2020). Depression Fact Sheet. Retrieved 16thAugust.