Depression is a mood disorder that is characterized by feelings of sadness, anger, or loss. It can interfere with people’s daily routine, especially with how they perceive these feelings and react to them, leading to emotional as well as physical stress. Fortunately, medications and therapy can help alleviate symptoms of depression. Therapy is a type of treatment aimed to relieve mental disorders and emotional distress.

Here are a few common types of therapies that help manage the symptoms of depression:

1. Cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive therapy blends perfectly well with behavioral therapy, and that’s why they’re often clubbed to treat depression and anxiety. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) focuses on negative thought patterns, feelings, and behavior. This type of psychotherapeutic treatment helps one identify and change destructive thought patterns. Techniques to alleviate symptoms of depression range from self-help materials, like journaling and mental distractions, to psychotherapies.

2. Dialectical behaviour therapy
This type of therapy helps patients recognize their negative thought patterns and the impact it has on their behavior. This is a type of psychotherapy that helps patients cope with stress and help rationalize their reactions. It attempts to provide therapeutic skills in four key areas: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and interpersonal effectiveness.

3. Interpersonal psychotherapy
This type of therapy is a time-limited, evidence-based approach to manage mood disorders. The main goal is to better the quality of one’s interpersonal relationships and social functioning to lessen their distress. This form of therapy attempts to provide strategies to resolve problems within four key areas. It tackles interpersonal shortfalls, helps one manage grief, like the death of a loved one, and addresses difficult life transitions like retirement, divorce, or rehabilitation.

4. Animal-assisted therapy
Having pets around the house can help many children with mental health issues, but little did we know that animals also help adults get over depression. Additionally, there are therapy dogs that assist therapists in alleviating anxiety, stress, and depression for their patients. Besides helping patients with mental health disorders, therapy dogs also help patients with heart diseases and cancers. This type of therapy works to minimize trauma and stress caused due to illness or isolation.

5. Dance therapy
Dance therapy, also known as dance or movement therapy, is a treatment method that employs dance and other forms of physical movement to better one’s emotional and psychological functioning. It has been known to treat various mental health issues like depression, PTSD, and non-clinical problems including low self-esteem and body image issues. This type of treatment is quite successful, as dance is a form of exercise, consequently resulting in various physical benefits like improved sleep, stable heart rate, and increased energy.