Depression Treatment Revised: Lessons We’ve Learned from COVID-19, Antidepressants, and Psychotherapies That Actually Work
Depression is the most common mood disorder in Australia - and the world -according to recent figures from the World Health Organization (WHO). With the escalation of the coronavirus global pandemic ravaging the world’s population, new challenges have emerged for mental health professionals. The rates of anxiety and depression, two disorders most often found together, known as “co-morbid conditions,” have risen sharply for reasons that are readily apparent. While Victoria has had the toughest time, the concerns people all across Australia have are not easily contained within state borders. What lessons about depression can be learned from the pandemic’s path of destruction?
While the pandemic has garnered the attention of most, many more studies of antidepressant medications have been published in recent years and new drug and biological treatments have also emerged. Given that antidepressant medications are the most common form of treatment, it’s important for us to consider what can be gleaned from these developments. Likewise, more studies of psychotherapy have appeared in the clinical literature highlighting more of what is effective in overcoming depression. Many of these factors are ones we have known about for some time already, but some others are highlighted that deserve further attention.
Depression’s debilitating tentacles reach into every aspect of peoples’ lives, including relationships, productivity and physical health. Depression’s dangers simply cannot be overstated. Thus, giving voice to lessons we’re still learning about depression remains an ongoing necessity, one that this webinar will help fulfil.
Attendees will have a much clearer understanding of the complexities of depression and a better sense of what can be done to manage depression realistically and skillfully.
