1. Understanding Depression Slideshow
2. Take the Depression Quiz
3. Benefits of Depression Treatment

Medical Author:

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Roxanne Dryden-Edwards, MD

Dr. Roxanne Dryden-Edwards is an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist. She is a former Chair of the Committee on Developmental Disabilities for the American Psychiatric Association, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and Medical Director of the National Center for Children and Families in Bethesda, Maryland.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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If your symptoms indicate that you have clinical depression, your health-care provider will strongly recommend treatment. Treatment may include addressing any medical conditions that cause or worsen depression. For example, an individual who is found to have low levels of thyroid hormone might receive thyroid hormone replacement with levothyroxine (Synthroid, Levoxyl). Other components of treatment may be supportive therapy, such as changes in lifestyle and behavior, psychotherapy, complementary therapies, and may often include medication. If your symptoms of depression are severe enough to warrant treatment with medication, you are most likely to feel better faster and for longer when medication treatment is combined with psychotherapy.

Most practitioners will continue treatment of major depression for six months to a year. Treatment for teens with depression can have a significantly positive effect on the adolescent's functioning with peers, family, and at school. Without treatment, your symptoms will last much longer and may never get better. In fact, they may get worse. With treatment, your chances of recovery are quite good.

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