Many people think and believe that there are only two therapies for depression: talking to a psychotherapist and taking some drugs called antidepressants. The first takeaway from this article is that the list of possible complementary therapies is quite long.
Same as when a person is doing for example some rehabilitation after an injury, there are many different types of procedures that help speed up the recovery, in a similar fashion, there are many different complementary therapies, which help and assist in getting out from depression faster and easier.
Unfortunately, often people don’t know about all the other alternative complementary therapies for depression, or they are not available to them in the area or close by where they live. Other challenges include costs and time, if the therapies are too expensive or not affordable by the individual, and if there is lack of time on one or both sides (patient and therapist).
In case you are searching for some new alternative therapies for depression and complementary therapies for depression, then you are reading the right article.
Many people also underestimate the role of a psychotherapist. First, please know that there are many different types of psychotherapists. Their approach and type of therapy they specialize in is different. So even when you already tried talking to a psychologist, you may have tried perhaps only one or two different types of “talking therapy”. There are very specific methods and series of exercises, which are facilitated by specialists/experts in different types and forms of psychotherapy to positively affect the behavior and mind. Many people would certainly benefit from breaking some habitual, negative, repetitive thinking patterns.
There are many causes for depression. There are many treatment options available for depression – to effectively deal with different causes, we have to select and use different therapies appropriately. Before choosing the most suitable therapies, the best is, if all the possible causes can be examined thoroughly first. Once the assessment has been done, it is possible to choose appropriate therapies and treatment options. Often more than one type of therapy is beneficial. From the point of view of a holistic approach towards health, we have to consider the physical body (such as: genes, vitamins, minerals, hormones, …), emotional traumas, the way of thinking (beliefs and thoughts), behavioral patterns, social factors, daily activities, levels of stress and what causes stress, and more.
Some therapies help relieve certain (not all) depression related symptoms only temporarily (not forever). Please note that more than one session is often needed to get more benefits from the therapy. If something works for another person, even if you think/identify having the same symptoms, it does not mean that the same therapies will work the same way for you too. We are uniquely complex beings. It is an individual process and it requires an individual approach.
Fortunately, many different therapies exist, much more than the general public is aware of.
What therapies exist to treat depression?
List of Therapies for Depression
When you use these terms to research them in detail, you can add “for depression” at the end of them, for example: interpersonal therapy for depression
- talk therapy
- drug therapy, antidepressants therapy
- light therapy, sunlight therapy
- music therapy, sound therapy
- art therapy
- color therapy
- behavioral therapy
- cognitive behavioral therapy (cbt therapy)
- mindfulness-based cognitive therapy
- dbt therapy, dialectical behavior therapy
- psychodynamic therapy (psychoanalytic psychotherapy)
- interpersonal therapy
- occupational therapy
- narrative therapy
- solution focused therapy
- group therapy
- online therapy (supplementary online solution)
- transcranial magnetic stimulation therapy (tms/rtms therapy, magnetic therapy)
- electroconvulsive therapy (ect therapy, electroshock therapy)
- laser therapy, transcranial near-infrared light therapy (NILT)
- animal assisted therapy
- therapy dog for depression (dog breeds for depression)
- equine therapy, equine assisted therapy (horse therapy)
- biofeedback therapy
- vagus nerve stimulation therapy (vns therapy)
- exercise therapy
- laughter therapy
- ketamine therapy
- amino acid therapy
- vitamin therapy
- nutrition therapy
- hormone therapy
- psychedelic therapy
- emdr therapy, eye movement therapy
- hypnosis therapy (supplementary online solution)
- massage therapy
- journal therapy
- cold shower/water therapy
- gene therapy (supplementary online solution)
- hyperbaric oxygen therapy
Note: the order of these therapies has no special significance – it does not determine which ones are better or more effective.
When choosing a therapy keep in mind that some may have negative side effects (for example: electroconvulsive therapy – ect therapy). So, please research and discuss with others such as qualified specialists before choosing your next treatment option.
If you are interested to know about even more therapies and treatment options for depression, I recommend reading the book “Quest for a Depression-free Life”. You can download the pdf version of the book (this version and format is free on this website).
You will find out much more about emotional release therapies and also about therapies categorized into the following main categories (for a holistic view):
- Body
- Mind
- Spirit
Some of the therapies are good also for general health as part of a healthy lifestyle, and they are very often recommended for people with depression:
exercise / laughter / nutrition / massage
Having activities in your life which help you relax, help you release stress, which make life more enjoyable, definitely contributes to overall health and overall happiness. Be more proactive and make it a higher priority to do such activities more often in your life.
When searching for therapies for depression, people also often search for the following related search terms:
- complementary therapies for depression
- alternative therapies for depression
- natural therapies for depression
- holistic therapies for depression
- integrative therapies for depression
- different therapies for depression
- new therapies for depression
- best therapies for depression
If you are interested to learn more about treatment options and therapies for depression, then reading the free version of the book about depression containing many complementary, alternative, natural therapies for a more holistic approach may be a good idea and may save you a lot of time and you may find out about therapies, which are often not that easy to find out about.
What are the best therapies for depression depends on many factors. One big factor is doing the best to identify the root causes of depression of the person. There are many different causes, and often not just one, but several of them are causing a person’s depression. Depending on the root causes of depression, a different set of complementary therapies is best.
We often have to make certain compromises in life and thus may have to choose the second or third best therapy instead of what may be the first best therapy. Often we do not know until we try. Even if logical thinking and past data suggest, that something should be the ideal therapy, we find out only after trying it out. It is normal to try out several different therapies before finding out which one works best. It is normal that we may need several different therapies not just one and making use of several therapies can help experience betterment faster.