Depression is one of the most common mental health problems people face today. When stress levels increase, problem management systems fail, the mind and body decides to withdraw completely into numbness. Depression used to be treated with a combination of drug and individual therapy. Couples therapy is demonstrating to be very successful in treating depression. I want to look at the advantages of couples versus individual therapy for depression.
While researching the efficacy of couples therapy with depression, researchers came up with big surprise result. During couples therapy, while the parterapi Frederiksberg symptoms of depression raised from the ‘patients’, the partners were known to become depressed. As the sessions continued the partners hauled as well. In the follow up the couples expressed increased spouse satisfaction not only is it without any depressive symptoms.
Anna was diagnosed with depression and her GENERAL PRACTITIONER referred them for couples therapy. When her husband John was invited for sessions at first he was perplexed. He felt held responsible in some way. Usually the partners approach defensively until they realise there is something positive in it for them too.
Anna surely could recognise and express her needs and feelings in the therapy. John discovered new dimensions about Anna even though they are married for 26 years. Her inability to assert herself was explored. Her father was a thrashing man who could not handle any extreme passion. Anna was encouraged to take responsibility for her needs. Meanwhile John knew how his anxiety about not being good enough for her turned him into an oppressive man. It was the purpose John became depressed for a while. Over time Anna surely could reassure him of her love and commitment for him. This became the turning point of their therapy.
I believe couples therapy is a more honest choice of treatment for depression. Problems arise in relationships and they are best resolved in relationships. If Anna was referred for individual therapy she would have worked on her capability to express her needs, but John would not be have been able to sound right of her changes and might have been even more vulnerable and more restricted and angry as a result. With couples therapy, however, both John and Anna had some insight into the direction they have been relating together. These folks also able to use the safety of the therapy context to change old patterns with an increase of fulfilling ones.
So John was not the reason of her depression. Their past experiences, fears and the direction they related together was organ of the reason. Couples therapy works as a prompt that brings forth the difficulties in a relationship and then, as they are worked through, it brings couples finer.
Sharing difficult times, being vulnerable with each other, expressing the effect of past wounds on the present during therapy increase the couples’ intimacy and as a result spouse fulfilment. I strongly advise couples therapy if one partner suffers from depression, this is an opportunity for increased well-being for both parties in the relationship.