Notes on Depression

Depression can cloud thinking and even interfere with the desire to seek help. If a client has at least four of the following symptoms, at least one form of depression exists.

• Sad or empty mood most of the day
• Loss of interest in most activities
• Significant weight gain or weight loss without dieting
• Inability to sleep well or sleeping too much Feeling restless or feeling slowed down
• Loss of energy, fatigue Feeling worthless or excessive guilt
• Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide A lack of ability to concentrate or think clearly

Regarding the use of anti-depressants:

While there are a large number of scientific studies that support these contentions, there is only one meta-study that evaluated all of the depression studies conducted over an eighteen-year period of time (334 studies) on every form of treatment and its effectiveness. This U.S. government-sponsored study found that interpersonal counseling (including cognitive therapy) was slightly superior to antidepressants alone, and surprisingly interpersonal counseling alone was more effective than the combined use of interpersonal therapy and antidepressants (Murlow et al., 1999). This statistical edge of counseling over antidepressants suggests that antidepressants may actually reduce the impact of counseling. Nonetheless, considering the overall effectiveness of any of these methods, it is clear that none are highly successful.

Vazquez, Steven R. (2012-10-12). Emotional Transformation Therapy (pp. 205-206). Rowman & Littlefield. Kindle Edition.

Vazquez, Steven R. (2012-10-12). Emotional Transformation Therapy (p. 203). Rowman & Littlefield. Kindle Edition.