Depression is one of the most common reasons that cause people to seek
psychotherapy. Cognitive-behavior therapy has been found in controlled studies
to be an effective form of treatment for depression--in fact, it appears to be as
effective as antidepressant medications. Cognitive-behavior therapy for depression
focuses on the clinical observation that depressed mood often seems to result
from negative patterns of thinking and behaving. For example, depressed people
often have thoughts like, "I'm a failure," "I can't do anything right," "I'll never
accomplish my goals," "No one cares about me," "I'll be alone forever," or similar.
These thoughts can feel powerful and compelling, but usually do not tell a balanced,
reasonable story.

In cognitive-behavior therapy, patient and therapist work together
to determine what types of negative thinking are problematic for the depressed patient,
and what types of coping or balanced thoughts can be used to provide a better
perspective, to lift the depressed person's mood, and help him or her function better.
The therapy also often focuses on helping the depressed person increase his or her
activity level or find more gratifying, pleasurable activities. In therapy sessions, the
therapist takes an active approach to teaching here-and-now coping strategies to
help patients understand and change cognitions and behaviors that contribute to
depressed mood. This is an active, problem-solving to therapy. Practicing new skills
outside of sessions is a central part of treatment.

A key goal of cognitive-behavior therapy is to provide you with tools that you can
use to work on your depressive symptoms and to prevent future episodes. Treatment
can be done in individual or group or couples format.