Psychological treatments for depression

[Dr James Alexander]

We have undergone 2-3 decades of indoctrination that CBT is the best and only form of psychological treatment for a wide range of problems, including depression. But how validated by the research is this claim?
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[Forest]

For people who would like to dig deeper, Dr. Alexander's post referenced a "Science News" post that was based on a recent scientific article about seven different approaches to psychotherapy:

• "Interpersonal psychotherapy" is short and highly structured, using a manual to focus on interpersonal issues in depression.
• "Behavioral activation" raises the awareness of pleasant activities and seeks to increase positive interactions between the patient and his or her environment.
• "Cognitive behavioural therapy" focuses on a patient's current negative beliefs, evaluates how they affect current and future behaviour, and attempts to restructure the beliefs and change the outlook.
• "Problem solving therapy" aims to define a patient's problems, propose multiple solutions for each problem, and then select, implement, and evaluate the best solution.
• "Psychodynamic therapy" focuses on past unresolved conflicts and relationships and the impact they have on a patient's current situation.
• In "social skills therapy," patients are taught skills that help to build and maintain healthy relationships based on honesty and respect.
• "Supportive counselling" is a more general therapy that aims to get patients to talk about their experiences and emotions and to offer empathy without suggesting solutions or teaching new skills.

For anyone interested in the paper, I thought that the Editor's Summary was excellent:
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001454#abstract2

The core of Dr. Sarno's treatment plan was educational, but 20-25% of his patients also needed therapy, and it is good to see studies verifying the efficacy of various psychotherapeutic approaches.