Depending on the number and intensity of symptoms, depressive episodes can be classified as mild, moderate or severe..
A fundamental distinction is that made between depression in people with and without a history of manic episodes. Both types of depression can be chronic and recurrent, especially when left untreated. In this sense, a magnificent solution to treat this disease is offered by these psychologists from Barcelona, specialized in providing therapy for depression..
During typical depressive episodes there is a depressed mood, loss of interest and enjoyment, and reduced energy resulting in decreased activity, all for a minimum of two weeks. Many people with depression also suffer from symptoms of anxiety, sleep and appetite disturbances, feelings of guilt and low self-esteem, concentration difficulties, and even medically unexplained symptoms..
Depending on the number and intensity of symptoms, depressive episodes can be classified as mild, moderate or severe. People with mild depressive episodes will have some difficulty continuing with their usual work and social activities, although they probably will not stop completely..
On the other hand, during a severe depressive episode it is very unlikely that the patient will be able to maintain their social, work or domestic activities if it is not with great limitations.
Bipolar disorder a type of depression characteristically consists of manic and depressive episodes that alternate with a normal mood. Manic episodes include elevated or irritable mood, hyperactivity, logorrhea, excessive self-esteem, and decreased need for sleep.
Below we will briefly explain how to carry out a cognitive behavioral therapy in a patient with unipolar depression or major depressive disorder. The sessions are generally held in person, however thanks to the advancement of new technologies, it is increasingly common to offer an online psychological consultation service.
When a psychologist receives a patient, a psychological interview should be carried out where information such as: personal data, family and behavioral history, symptoms and what situations and behaviors make the person feel better and which ones make them feel worse.
An anxiety, depression and personality test are also usually administered to determine the current state of the patient. In this way, it is possible to establish a starting point, to later evaluate the intervention and also determine if the depression is comorbid with another disorder or, if on the contrary, it occurs in isolation. It is also important to assess whether the patient in question maintains a certain resistance to psychological therapy that is making it difficult to solve their problem.
In this new session the patient is explained the diagnostic hypothesis and also the type of therapy that the psychologist decides and begins to proceed.
Typically, you try to locate the cognitive distortions that the patient emits in his speech and attempts are also made to find those positive and negative reinforcers that are helping to maintain behaviors associated with depression.
With all this they are made behavioral self-records so that the patient can fill in their day-to-day life and thus later, in a new therapeutic session, analyze them in order to carry out a modification of their thoughts and behaviors.
Self-registrations are analyzed in order to refute the cognitive distortions presented by the patient and refute them with objective thoughts, so that they replace the typical automatic thoughts in a depressive picture.
In the last part of the session, relaxation will be introduced as a measure to decrease the psychophysiological arousal and thus avoid the anxiety that usually plagues these patients.
In the next sessions, we will continue working on cognitive distortions and training the patient in relaxation, in addition to recommending the usual practice of aerobic sport (walking, swimming, light running, etc.)
With all this, what is intended, is to regulate the levels of serotonin, adrenaline and stabilize, in this way, your mood.
The duration of therapy usually varies, but usually its temporality is from six to ten sessions, during which, the evolution of the patient will be observed depending on the number and intensity of cognitive distortions, their psychophysiological symptoms and also, their work with self-records, the practice of relaxation and sports.
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