Many approaches to treating depression and anxiety are readily available for those who suffer from these sometimes debilitation conditions. The list is long, and each individual therapy has benefits as well as drawbacks, and therapies can be combined in a number of ways to obtain the most effective treatment.
Out of all the techniques studied recently, including psychodynamic therapy, humanistic therapy, behavior therapy, classical conditioning techniques, exposure therapy, aversive conditioning, cognitive therapies, and self-help groups, I believe a combination of exposure therapy combined with cognitive therapy could be quite effective for alleviating some of the anxiety and depression felt by many people today. Adding group or family therapy on top of the exposure and cognitive therapies could further help those suffering from these sometimes debilitating disorders.
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"Approaches to Depression and Anxiety Treatment".
To some extent, experts agree that therapy over pharmacological treatment is preferable. Dunlop, Schienberg, and Dunlop argue that when treating anxiety and depression “considerations include avoidance of medications or doses that may aggravate anxiety symptoms” (n.p.). This leaves therapy. Severely depressed and anxious individuals routinely have difficulty coping with day to day functioning due to fears, out of proportion worries, flat affects, or lack of motivation. Exposure therapy can show many of these individuals how they can actually learn to face their fear or learn how to balance the day to become a more active participant in their own lives.
Combined with cognitive therapy, which helps to change behaviors at the core level, the therapeutic outcome could be quite positive, especially when linked with supportive group or family counseling. This could be especially true for young people, where “expertise in cognitive behavioral therapy” (“Depression n.p.) can be an extremely effective.
- Dunlop, Boadie, Kelly Scheinberg, and Anne Dunlop. “Ten Ways to Improve the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety in Adults.” Mental Health in Family Medicine, 10(3), 2013: 175–181. Print.
- “Depression & Mood Treatment.” Rogers Memorial Hospital. N.p. n.d. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.
