What therapies are recommended for depression?

If you have mild to moderate depression, guided self-help can be a useful first step to ease your symptoms.

Learning about symptoms and what may cause your depression during pregnancy, or after you have had your baby, can help you to look out for triggers and manage your symptoms. This is called psychoeducation.

Guided self-help involves a conversation guided by another person (such as a professional), or an online programme, to help you think about how you are feeling and what might help you feel better. You can get access to this support through your GP, maternity team or your mental health professional.

Joining a social support group with others who have had similar experiences can improve the symptoms of postnatal depression.

Local peer social support groups for parents experiencing postnatal depression are available. See the support directory for links to organisations with support groups local to you.

Talking therapy means talking one-to-one with a trained therapist. This kind of therapy may be used on its own or alongside medication.

If you have mild to moderate depression during or after your pregnancy, cognitive behavioural therapy or interpersonal therapy can help.

There is some research that shows that directive counselling can improve your symptoms of postnatal depression.

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help you manage your symptoms of depression by helping you understand the way depression can affect how you think and behave. It involves working with a trained therapist who will help you challenge unhelpful thoughts and behaviour, and try different, more helpful ways of coping. CBT can be face-to-face or online. If you think online would suit you better, you can choose to do CBT online  by yourself or with online support from a therapist.

Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is a talking therapy that focuses on the link between the current relationships in your life and your symptoms of depression. Relationships can be affected by depression, or might also be part of why you developed depression.  Understanding and strengthening your relationships can be a useful treatment that helps you recover.

In directive counselling, a professional counsellor uses supportive listening to understand your experience.  They will speak with you to work out the issues you want to address, agree goals and find the best way forward. This may be done in one-to-one sessions or, if you agree, with your partner present, or in a group format.