CBT can reduce risk of Perinatal Depression

If you have a history or family history of depression and are pregnant please let your healthcare team know.  Evidence based treatments prior to delivering your child can significantly reduce your risk of perinatal depression. The Task Force reviewed 50 studies which examined a variety of different treatments including counselling, physical activity, education, and medication such as antidepressants and omega-3 fatty acids. They determined there was convincing evidence that counseling interventions such as cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy were effective in preventing perinatal depression.In fact, both types of therapy reduced the risk of depression by 39 percent. Link

Continue Reading

Work and Depression

A recent study in the UK came out with some predictable results…. Relative to a standard 35–40 hours/week, working 55 hours/week or more related to more depressive symptoms among women (ß=0.75, 95% CI 0.12 to 1.39), but not for men (ß=0.24, 95% CI −0.10 to 0.58). Compared with not working weekends, working most or all weekends related to more depressive symptoms for both men (ß=0.34, 95% CI 0.08 to 0.61) and women (ß=0.50, 95% CI 0.20 to 0.79); however, working some weekends only related to more depressive symptoms for men (ß=0.33, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.55), not women (ß=0.17, 95% CI −0.09 to 0.42). The differences between genders …

Continue Reading

Make Decisions Like a Ninja

Decision making can be difficult when we’re struggling with a strong emotion and can be problematic when we’re coping with depression and anxiety. Pros and Cons is a flexible, easy to use and effective CBT skill that can improve our decision-making skills and increase confidence when making decisions. Pros and Cons can be helpful in the following areas: 1. Distress Tolerance: Comparing the Maladaptive coping mechanism to the Adaptive Coping Mechanism 2. Life Skills (exercise, medication compliance, eating well): Comparing, for example, Working Out v. Netflix. 3. Social Anxiety: Comparing Avoiding a Social Event v. Attending 4. Depression: Getting out of …

Continue Reading

Suicidality and Safety Plans

One area of critical importance in working with clients who struggle with depression, anxiety, and OCD is ensuring that a thorough assessment of suicide risk and a plan in coping with suicidal ideation is completed during the assessment and throughout treatment.  Even if a client does not have a history of suicidality, a safety plan is a good thing to discuss and have in place. Safety Plans should include the following: Activites that clients have engaged in that have helped them avoid suicide and parasuicidal behaviors in the past or if there is no history, activities they imagine would help them cope. …

Continue Reading

All the small things…

anxiety, depression, motovation

One really effective strategy to getting through an episode of depression and anxiety is behavioral activation and it’s really not that complicated.  It usually involves looking at some of the things we let go of and, in  some cases, picking the least overwhelming task then doing a small task within the task. For example,  just do one basket of laundry today.  Do that for a few days and eventually shoot for two.  What normally happens is that we feel a little more productive, gain momentum and end up doing more without having to set a formal goal. This is also …

Continue Reading