Depression therapy
What's first-line, what to pick when, and what to send home.
In this guide
CBT, IPT, MBCT, ACT, and CFT for the depressed client — with the formulations that distinguish acute episodes from chronic, characterological, perinatal, and geriatric presentations.
Modalities
The therapies most relevant to this topic.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are interlocking — change one and the others move.
Interpersonal Psychotherapy
Depression is treated by working on the interpersonal context that surrounds it.
Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy
An 8-week group program that uses mindfulness to prevent depressive relapse.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
Stop fighting your inner experience; start moving toward what matters.
Compassion-Focused Therapy
Build the capacity for self-compassion in clients dominated by shame and self-criticism.
Schema Therapy
Integrative therapy for chronic patterns rooted in unmet childhood needs.
Disorders
First-line picks and clinical guidance for the presentations under this topic.
Major Depressive Disorder
Persistent low mood, anhedonia, and behavioral withdrawal; thinking turns rigid and self-critical.
Depression responds to multiple evidence-based therapies. Choice depends on severity, recurrence history, interpersonal context, and client preference. For 3+ prior episodes, relapse prevention (MBCT, maintenance IPT) becomes central. Severe presentations usually benefit from combined therapy + medication.
Bipolar Disorder
Recurrent depressive and (hypo)manic episodes; mood stabilization is medication-led with adjunctive therapy.
Bipolar disorder is primarily medication-managed (mood stabilizers, atypical antipsychotics). Psychotherapy is adjunctive — psychoeducation, prodrome monitoring, and circadian/sleep regulation reduce relapse.
Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders
Depression, anxiety, OCD, or PTSD during pregnancy or the postpartum year.
PMADs are common (~15–20% of birthing parents) and highly treatable. Screen with EPDS at multiple time points. Untreated perinatal depression has measurable effects on infant attachment and development — treat actively.
Grief & Bereavement
Acute and prolonged grief responses to loss; normal in nearly all cases, occasionally complicated.
Most grief is non-pathological and does not require treatment. When grief becomes prolonged (>12 months, impairing), targeted therapies help. Differentiate from depression — overlap exists but the focus differs.
Worksheets
Free, printable, Quick-Send to clients.
For clients
Plain-language explainers you can share or open together in session.
Worked cases
Anonymized vignettes with formulation across 2–3 modalities.
Populations
What changes when you sit with this population.