Tag: depression
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Can You Exercise Your Way Out of Depression?
When a person becomes clinically depressed, the typical treatment is to prescribe anti-depressants to provide short-term symptom relief and to enroll the patient in psychotherapy to address the underlying issues that cause depression. However, prescribed medications can have unpleasant side effects, and psychotherapy can be expensive and takes time to get results. For these reasons,…
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The Gold Standard? Is CBT the BEST Treatment for Depression?
The latest meta-analysis seems to have definitively answered this question. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, pioneered by Aaron Beck, targets distorted thinking and leads to behavioral change. After developing CBT techniques, Beck sought to prove the effectiveness of the therapy through rigorous, well-designed studies. By 2021, CBT had been put to the test in over…
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Bullet Summary: tDCS for Depression
Updated Aug 2023©Jennie Dilworth, Ph.D HISTORY DESIRABILITY TREATMENT EFFECTIVENESS: CLINIC/DOCTOR SUPERVISED* (Meta-analyses published after 2019) *Note: meta-analyses referenced here have different foci but may include some of the same studies. TREATMENT EFFECTIVENESS: HOME-BASED DEVICES PROTOCOLS Sources: Aparicio, L. V. M., Rosa, V., Razza, L. M., Sampaio-Junior, B., Borione, L., Valiengo, L., Lotufo, P. A., Besenor,…
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How to Increase the Effectiveness of Home-based tDCS
In my previous post, I shared meta-analyses testing the use of home-based tDCS devices. Click here to access that post. Professionals who administer tDCS in clinical settings lament the advent of home-based devices (which are quite affordable) for various reasons. One concern is that home treatment may be ineffective because proper electrode placement is critical…
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How Do Home-Based tDCS Devices Compare to Clinical Treatment?
In my previous post, I reviewed recent meta-analyses about the effectiveness of tDCS administered in clinical settings for treating depression. Click here to read that post. Based on the effectiveness, safety profile, and relatively low cost of treating depression with tDCS, more companies are manufacturing and selling home-based tDCS devices. These devices are typically quite…
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tDCS in Clinical Settings: Can It Reduce Depression?
Although tDCS continues to be investigated for treating a variety of physical and mental disorders, it holds great promise in the treatment of depression, especially for those who do not respond to antidepressants and psychotherapy or who need additional help beyond traditional treatments. There have been a number of published clinical trials to date testing…