Educational Objectives:

This course will teach psychotherapists to
• Identify the symptoms of depression.
• Define treatment guidelines for various kinds of depression.
• Identify the limitations of published research on antidepressants.
• Identify the side effects of antidepressant medications.
• More carefully conduct screenings of new mothers and children for depression.
• Review effective treatments, including some alternative medical treatments.
• Assemble self-help resources for depressed clients.

Course Syllabus:

• Defining the disease
  • Basic behavioral definitions and descriptions
  • Differences between infant, child/adolescent and adult depression
  • Psychodynamic view of definitions, symptoms and descriptions
  • Spiritual dimensions of depression; depression as an indicator of growth
  • Physical causes of depression
• Treatment guidelines
  • Decision-tree guidelines for treating children and adolescents
  • Recommended treatments from National Institute of Mental Health
  • Specific antidepressant medications: mechanisms, side effects, interactions
  • Addressing the physical cause of depression
• Antidepressants: do the benefits outweigh the side effects?
  • The Kirsch study: are antidepressants more effective than placebo?
  • How research can slant the results: critically examining research
  • Withdrawal symptoms from antidepressants
• Depression among pregnant women and post partum depression
  • Prevalence rates
  • How new mothers' depression affects infants
• Recent effective psychotherapies and treatments
  • Interpersonal Psychotherapy
  • Process-experiential therapy
  • Behavior Activation therapy
  • Exercise & Other alternative approaches
• Additional Resources

To listen to Garry Cooper's Podcast on John Riolo's Insider Internet Radio show Click here.

For Author's Bio, Click Here.