Question

If you were working with someone with depression what therapy would you choose and why? What might be some social/cultural factors you may consider in your work if any?

Answer 1

If I were working with someone with depression, I would use a combination of techniques from therapies that are more solution-focused. My aim with the client would be to help them alleviate suffering and teach skills which can prevent future relapse. Keeping this in mind, I would like to choose interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT). IPT is an empirically-supported psychotherapy that centers on resolving interpersonal problems and symptomatic recovery. It has been developed specially for depression and it follows a highly structured and time-limited approach.

Various social and cultural factors influence people's attitudes toward help-seeking, perceptions, and beliefs about psychotherapy. These may result in differences in the expression of depression are whether symptoms are primarily experienced in the body, or as disorders of emotion and cognition. Furthermore, the extent to which symptoms are recognized as pathology versus an unpleasant but normative characteristic of life might differ. It is thus important for therapists to be mindful of a client's unique needs that may be shaped as a result of their social or cultural background.