Depression tagged posts

Fully Treating Depression, Cognitive Symptoms and All

Care for Your Mind

Over the past several weeks, Care for Your Mind posts have articulated the “gold standard” of depression treatment: that it should be tailored for each individual living with depression, selected through a process of shared decision making that takes into account the person’s goals, priorities, and preferences. Based on those criteria, it’s reasonable for people living with depression and their families to expect to receive quality depression treatment from their primary care providers, particularly for the first and perhaps second medical treatment regimen. In this final post of the series, we underscore the importance of fully treating depression, meaning that treatment should not be considered completed until residual symptoms have been alleviated.

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Depression Treatment: Finding Affordable Therapy

Kimberly Morrow, LCSW

Editor’s Note: Over the course of the past several posts on depression treatment, we’ve focused on matching the treatment to the person. For most people with moderate to severe depression, medication is an element of treatment. Thus, the series includes discussion about making choices among medications to best align with the person living with depression’s goals, preferences, and priorities. We also acknowledge that talk therapy is often a core component of effective treatment and long-lasting wellness. In this archived post, we share strategies to access therapy services when cost is an issue.

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Using Decision Aids in Depression Treatment: An Update

The quality of the decision making process has significant consequences with regard to treatment experience and treatment outcomes. What is happening in the field of development and use of decision aids?

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Depression Treatment in Primary Care: Tips for Caregivers

Care for Your Mind

For most people, Primary Care Providers are their most accessible health care professionals. PCPs (for example, general medicine or family physician, nurse practitioner) are the first line of care for a host of physical conditions and are frequently the first to diagnose and treat depression. Because PCPs are busy and not always attuned to mental health issues – especially as mental health disorders are often masked by physical complaints and discussion of concerns is stymied by stigma – it’s important for caregivers of people living with mood disorders to be educated about depression and prepared to advocate for the treatment that best fits their loved ones’ goals, preferences, and priorities.

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Faster and Easier Approaches for Improving Patients’ Depression Treatment Outcomes

Michael E. Thase, M.D.

Michael E. Thase, M.D.
Professor of Psychiatry
Director, Mood and Anxiety Disorders Treatment and Research Program
University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

Depression affects more than 15 million Americans and it’s the leading underlying factor for people who attempt suicide. Only half of Americans diagnosed with major depression receive treatment. Because earlier diagnosis and treatment improve outcomes, mental health screenings should be a top priority.

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Response, Remission, Recovery: What Are Your Depression Treatment Goals?

Response, Remission, Recovery Are Depression Treatment Goals

What is the goal of depression treatment? At a minimum, treatment should alleviate symptoms. Increasingly, however, people living with depression, their families, and their providers should expect more, that optimal care should result in both abatement of symptoms and recovery of function. That is to say, people with depression should be able to live their lives in a way that is symptom-free and allows them to participate in their chosen life activities and relationships.

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What You Know Affects Treatment

 

Susan Weinstein, JD
Editor in Chief, Care for Your Mind

It’s hard to make good decisions when you don’t have good information. And in a system where healthcare providers have less and less time to provide the information necessary for good decision making, it falls to individuals and their supportive family members and friends to be proactive in getting the information they need for making informed healthcare decisions.

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Tell CMS: Preserve Medicare’s Six Protected Classes

Chuck Ingoglia
Chuck Ingoglia
Executive Director, Partnership for Part D Access

One of Medicare’s key patient protections – the six protected classes – is under threat by a new proposal from the Trump Administration. Feedback from the public will be critical in deciding whether or not they move forward — that’s why it’s essential that you let your voice be heard.

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