Major Depressive Disorder Essay

Major Depressive Disorder or MDD is a very common clinical condition that affects millions of people every year. According to the Agency for Health Care Policy & Research, " depression is under diagnosed & untreated by most medical doctors, despite the fact that it can almost always be treated successfully.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV); A person who suffers from this disorder must have a depressed mood, or have lost interest in things that would have normally brought them pleasure; for a minimum of two weeks. This must be different then the person's normal behaviors, and it may not be caused by a general medical condition. (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) …show more content…
Any one of these could be chosen as a treatment option, but for the purpose of this paper, I will focus on a form of Humanistic Therapy.
Humanistic Therapy is a process by which an individual is influenced and gains their knowledge from within themselves; by changing the negative attitudes and thoughts to eventually produce a positive outcome. As stated in our text, "Humanistic Therapies place emphasis on the person's desire to achieve self-respect. Existential therapy emphasizes the need to confront basic questions of ones existence, such as: What is the meaning of my life?" (Sarason & Sarason, 1999) A combination of these two are known as Person-centered therapy or Client-centered therapy.
Carl Rogers founded person-centered/client-centered therapy in the 1940's. In this type of therapy it allows the client to take part more, and except responsibility for his or her own treatment. This type of treatment focuses on the person from the inside out. Starting with the inner turmoil, which the person is fighting inside. The therapist and the client both have certain goals to fulfill for the treatment to be successful.
The goal of the therapist is to be empathetic and understanding, and to show unconditional positive regard for the client. The therapist needs relate to their client person to person, and "feel as if this person to has self-worth,

Show More