Cognitive behavioral therapy helps women with depression

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Affirmations and thought stopping can help women on low incomes to beat depression.
Cognitive therapy is a proven treatment for depression. It involves changing negative thought patterns into more positive ones, by using encouraging statements, called affirmations, and other simple techniques.

A team at the University of Kentucky have tried a version of cognitive therapy with a group of low-income single mothers suffering from depression. They focused upon thought stopping - blocking out negative ideas, in other words - and affirmation. The work was done as a group over six weeks. The women reported fewer depressive symptoms, less negative thinking and less stress after the intervention. What is more, the benefits were maintained for six months. This is a cost-effective therapy that can be administered by trained nurses. It should perhaps be adopted more widely for the treatment of depression.

Source
Journal of Nursing Scholarship 20th December 2005

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