Choosing a Treatment Based on the Brain
Currently, most depression treatment is trial-and-error until your healthcare team can find something that works for you. This is something a team at Emory University is trying to change.
The researchers are trying to identify biomarkers to determine what therapy people will respond best to for their depression, using brain scans to measure glucose metabolism in the brain.
Typically, with depression treatment you'll only receive medications, cognitive behavioral therapy, or both. Even though it can be expensive and time-consuming, both treatments should be done together in order to help manage your depression.
When you look for a psychiatrist or counselor, try to find someone who is willing to treat you with both medication and therapy, and find out how successful they've been at helping someone with depression.
Your doctor should be able to refer you to a mental health professional, but make sure your doctor knows that you're interested in both treatments to find a method that works for you.
