If you or someone you know is showing extreme signs of depression and or some form of abnormal behavior, here are some suggestions to various treatment approaches that can help. These are the most recent and more effective forms of psychological treatment. Most abnormal behavior and forms of depression come from highly stressful situations that may have become deep-rooted over long periods of time and even from recent situations such as the lose of a loved one and being overworked, to as far back as a traumatic childhood experience.

Most research suggest that, in general, therapy is more effective than no therapy, although how much more effective is not known. The answer to the more difficult question of which therapy works best is even less clear, in part because the therapies are so qualitatively different, and in part because the definition of "cure" is so vague. It is indisputable, though, that particular kinds of therapy are more appropriate for some problems than for others.

What are the goals of psychologically and biologically based treatment approaches? Although the specific treatment types are diverse, psychotherapy (psychologically based therapy) and biomedical therapy (biologically based therapy) share the goal of resolving psychological problems by modifying people's thoughts, feelings, expectations, evaluations, and ultimately their behavior.

The Basic Psychotherapy Approaches

Psychoanalytic treatment - based on Sigmund Freud's psychodynamic theory. It seeks to bring unresolved past conflicts and unacceptable impulses from the unconscious into the conscious, where the problem may be dealt with more effectively. Patients must meet frequently with their therapists and use techniques such as free association and dream interpretation. The process can be a difficult one because of patient resistance and transference, and there is no evidence that the process works.

Behavioral approaches - view abnormal behavior itself as the problem, rather than viewing the behavior as a symptom of some underlying cause. To bring about a "cure," this view suggests that the outward behavior must be changed. In aversive conditioning, unpleasant stimuli are linked to a behavior that the patient enjoys but wants to stop.

Cognitive approaches - often referred to as cognitive-behavioral therapy, suggest that the goal of therapy should be a reconstructing of a person's belief system into a more realistic, rational, and logical view of the world.

Humanistic approaches - is based on the premise that people have control of their behavior, that they can make choices about their lives, and that it is up to them to solve their own problems. Humanistic therapists take a non-directive approach, acting more as guides who facilitate a client's search for answers.

Existential therapy - helps people cope with the unique freedom and potential that human existence offers.

Gestalt therapy - is directed toward aiding people in the integration of their thoughts, feelings, and behavior.

Group therapy - several unrelated people meet with a therapist to discuss some aspect of their psychological functioning, often centering on a common problem such as alcoholism or problems in relating to others.

Biological treatment - suggest that therapy ought to focus on the physiological causes of abnormal behavior, rather than considering psychological factors. Drug therapy, the best example of biomedical treatments, has been effective in bringing about dramatic reductions in the appearance of severe signs of mental disturbance.

Antipsychotic approaches - drugs such as chlorpromazine are very effective in reducing psychotic symptoms, although they can produce serious side effects. Antidepressant drugs, such as Prozac, reduce depression so successfully that they are very widely used. The antianxiety drugs, or minor tranquilizers, are among the most frequently prescribed medications of any sort; they act to reduce the experience of anxiety.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ETC) - consists of passing an electric current of 70 to 150 volts through the head of a patient, who loses consciousness and has a strong seizure. This procedure is an effective treatment for severe cases of schizophrenia and depression.

Psychosurgery treatment - consists of surgically destroying certain parts of a patient's brain in an operation known as a prefrontal lobotomy. Given the grave ethical problems and possible adverse side effects, the procedure is rarely used today.

Community treatment - aims to prevent or minimize psychological disorders. The movement was spurred in part by deinstitutionalization, in which previously hospitalized mental patients were released into the community. A notable by-product of the movement has been the installation of telephone hot lines and campus crises centers throughout the country.

Here are some common disorders that many people suffer from:

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Source from Essentials of Understanding Psychology: Feldman, 2000