DEPRESSION

Now we know that many depressions actually have a genetic or biological basis, so medical, not just psychological treatments make sense for them. Antidepressant medications were found to be effective for both kinds of depressions—psychological and biological—making the old simple explanations more complicated.

Since many people with depression have a combination of these factors, at Roundhouse we recognize that overlaps occur and we try to address them all. If biological factors predominate, we aggressively treat them first to better enable us to follow up with “talk therapy.” If talk therapy will work by itself, why use medication?

Symptoms of Biological Depressions:

• Low energy
• Poor concentration
• Sleep disturbances
• Appetite changes
• Weight changes
• Loss of interest in usual activities
• Loss of enjoyment in everyday life
• Reduced sex interest

Roundhouse Approach to Depression:

• Initial Evaluation
• Identifying all your current concerns
• Deciding whether medication is indicated
• Deciding whether other biological treatments make more sense
• Matching you with a Roundhouse professional
  • With “good chemistry” for you
  • With an experienced psychiatric social worker
  • With a prescribing psychiatrist or physician assistant
• Active Treatment
• Scheduling sessions at a sensible frequency
  • More frequent at the beginning so we can fully understand what’s going on, and establish a good working relationship
• Meeting at least once with a significant other
  • Spouse, parent, adult child or even a good friend
  • We don’t want to be a mystery to people who care about you
  • They help us to monitor your progress
• Tracking progress to achieve rapid recovery
  • If results are not yet satisfactory, we’ll consider other effective treatment options
• Our Number One Job: Getting you back on the right track

What You Need To Know About Medication Treatment

Treatment has to be customized for each individual. Three Critical Factors must be right:

1. Choosing the right medication
   1. Everyone is built differently
   2. We must find the right key to fit your lock
2. Discovering the right dosage
   1. Antidepressants vary more than other medications
   2. Too little or too much just won’t work
   3. Dosage must be optimized
3. Waiting the right length of time
   1. The brain is a slow responder
   2. It takes a week or so, or even longer, even assuming we’re using the right medication at the optimal dosage