5 Treatment Goals For Depression

Keegan Warrington
December 13, 2021

Feeling sad, down, or losing interest now and then is a normal part of life. But depression is another issue. It significantly– more often than not, adversely– affects lives.

Medically speaking, depression (also major depressive disorder and clinical depression) is a mood or mental disorder that involves persistent feelings of sadness, feeling down, and loss of interest.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), depression is among the most common mental illnesses globally, with about 280 million people suffering from it. That’s 3.8% of the general population.

It is a common disorder that does not lighten the fact that it’s a tough one to go through. On a lower level, this disorder may cause you to detach from friends and family and lose pleasure in things you love. Sadly, major depression can sometimes lead to suicide.

The treatment goals for depression are primarily focused on preventing, or at least managing those symptoms and effects. Without proper treatment and the right treatment plan, this illness may progress into something drastically more severe.

How Does Therapy Help In The Treatment Of Depression?

Whether the patient is in inpatient depression treatment or outpatient, psychotherapy is one of the most common yet effective modes of treatment for many mental health disorders, such as depression. Also known as “talk therapy,” you will work closely with a therapist to help you understand and manage your condition.

Man in Black Sweater and Blue Denim Jeans Sitting on Brown Wooden Chair

Initially, you will talk about your current situation. As you progress through your treatment, you’ll discover your triggers and causes and learn how to cope.

Depression therapy has a number of benefits that include:

  • Alleviating the symptoms of depression
  • Showing you a new perspective on your situation
  • Learning how to build better relationships and improve current ones

While psychotherapy is highly effective, it may not be enough to treat severe depression. Often, it’s done in conjunction with other treatments, such as medication, the first-line treatment for depression.

5 Treatment Goals For Depression

When it comes to mental illness treatments, there is no specific treatment set in stone or a sure-fire way to cure them. Instead, treatment plans are largely based on the person– the severity of their disease, how long they’ve had the disorder, and their overall situation.

Nonetheless, depression therapy has some general goals helpful on your road to recovery.

    1. Better Understand Your Depressive Feelings

One of the first steps of recovery is awareness. So, one goal of depression treatment is to help you better understand your condition.

Within this, there are sub-objectives that you’ll go through once in treatment. These include:

  • Developing vocabulary to describe what you’re feeling
  • Learning how to recognize symptoms and triggers
  • Knowing the consequences of acting out on depression
  • Identifying areas of vulnerability associated with depression

Once you’ve achieved understanding, you and your therapist can go on and plan your recovery further.

    2. Accept That You Have Depression

After awareness comes acceptance. Once you have accepted that you do have depression, planning for treatment can become more personal and customized to your specific situation.

You can begin to address the underlying causes of depressive feelings. Then, you can identify and recognize the symptoms and link them to triggers and harmful coping behaviors, such as substance abuse.

    3. Teach You To Decrease Or Manage Extreme Symptoms With Improved Coping

As said earlier, depression can make you feel down persistently and lose interest in things you were once passionate about. It can hinder you from feeling pleasure, satisfaction, and happiness.

With that said, this goal is a rather important part of recovery as it will help you in the real world while you’re out of therapy. If you know how to manage your symptoms or catch yourself before doing acting on your feelings, you may return to a relatively normal living situation.

    4. Create Healthy Habits

Aside from coping mechanisms, you’ll need to develop healthier habits to continue your healing outside.

You and your therapist will talk about your current behaviors and identify which ones are good and bad. Once you recognize the detrimental habits, you can improve the healthy habits and add more to replace the harmful ones.

    5. Build Better And Improve Current Relationships

Depression can also make you isolate yourself from friends and family. As a result, relationships can crumble. With treatment, you’ll learn how to be a better version of yourself so you can be better for your loved ones.

Consequently, with relationships repaired and stronger, they can also be there for you to support you in your healing.

Use The SMART Approach For Setting Goals

For many, setting goals for treatment can be overwhelming and challenging. Using the SMART method can guide you in setting your goals for depression treatment.

    1. Specific

Clearly defined goals make less wiggle room, so you have to make sure you achieve them. They should clearly say what you want to accomplish, who is involved, where you should do it, when you should do it, and why you should do it.

    2. Measurable

You should be able to track your goals. Seeing your progress will motivate you to continue. More than that, you must also measure the outcome to see if you truly satisfied the goal.

    3. Achievable

Goals should be challenging but not impossible. Having unreachable goals may only deter you from progressing if you “failed” to complete them.

    4. Relevant

The goals you set must be relevant and beneficial to your healing from depression.

    5. Time-based

Time is essential in recovery. Having a time limit or deadline to your goals will keep you motivated and active.

Depression is a nasty and challenging thing to go through. Nonetheless, you don’t have to let it take over you. With therapy, you can achieve the treatment goals for depression and get back to living a good life.

Stop searching for “depression treatment near me” and choose Roots to Recovery. Start your healing journey with people equipped with skill and compassion to help you. You can visit us at 3939 Atlantic Ave Suite 102, Long Beach, CA 90807, United States. You may also contact us at 562-203-0567 or go to our website rootstms.wpengine.com.

Disclaimer: This post serves a strictly educational use. It does not reflect the services, products, or therapeutic approaches of this establishment or its healthcare practitioners. This blog aims not to advertise the products, services, or therapeutic approaches of any other establishment that may be associated with this site. On the subject of safe or legal services, products, and appropriate therapies, recommendations ought to be given by a qualified professional on a case-to-case basis.

Keegan Warrington