A new effective brief psychodynamic treatment has been developed, called Interpersonal Therapy of Depression.  IPT is based on the idea that depression can be caused by the experience of grief and loss, interpersonal conflicts, problems with role transitions through life, and social skill problems.  By aiding a patient with their grief, helping resolve interpersonal conflicts, helping patients negotiate role transitions, and helping build new social skills, Dr. Richardson can help a patient recover from bout of depression.  If a patient's depression is severe and accompanied by suicidal ideation, medication management is often required.

 

When depression is chronic and unrelenting, then a new system of psychotherapy has been found to be effective, called Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP).  This therapy is based on the notion that people who are chronically depressed have repeated experiences of never getting their needs met in their interpersonal interactions.  By analyzing typical unsatisfying interactions and identifying what the patient can do to get more of what they want out of their relationships, they can begin to feel better about themselves, be more optimistic and confident, and recover from their depression.