Today National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) are publishing new guidelines for treating adults with depression.
They are recommending talking therapies, in particular cognitive behavioural therapy, over antidepressants.
Mental health statistics There's a 1 in 6 chance of developing depression at some point generally sufferers will experience a mixture of depression and anxiety 1 in 4 people in the UK suffer from mental health problems Talk it through.
Mind, the National Association for Mental Health, is happy to recommend talking therapies over anti-depressants. But they have also expressed a worry that this may lead to less resources for traditional counselling, which can work better for some people, and a lack of treatment options for depression-sufferers.
All-inclusive Mind's Chief Executive Paul Farmer said: "We welcome NICE's recommendations to promote the use of talking therapies over antidepressants, however we are concerned that the stronger focus on CBT over counselling will be interpreted by health services as an excuse to cut counselling services"
Although Mr Farmer agreed that the benefits of CBT can be really positive in some depression sufferers, he also pointed out that it may not always the right therapy in all cases. Choice for patients He highlighted the importance of choice, saying:
"By recommending CBT over counselling, we are concerned that counselling will be squeezed out by commissioners and it will become harder for patients to access a range of treatments, and find the one that works for them". Benefits of CBT CBT can help you to change how you think about issues in your life and what you choose to do about them.
It can help to alter the way you think and act on problems, changing a negative on life to one that is more positive. Many depression sufferers respond well to CBT as it focuses on the present rather than the past, looking for ways to improve your state of mind now. Benefits of traditional counselling
Other talking therapies such as counselling might focus more on long term solutions. Often a process of delving into a sufferer's past, they'll be encouraged to investigate experiences of previous trauma or distress that may be behind their present feelings of depression. Counselling provides an opportunity in which a person can talk about, make sense of and find their own way out of their depression with the help of a trained counsellor.