Mental health remains one of the stigmatized human conditions, yet many families and patients are faced with its reality. Discussions around mental wellness are quickly gaining audience across mainstream media, and influential social settings such as sports, entertainment, and corporate sectors are beginning to appreciate the need to creating awareness around the issue. Common mental health cases include anxiety disorders, mood disorders, personality disorders, and age-related mental illnesses. The discussion focuses on major depression with focus placed on developing a comprehensive treatment plan with the help of psychoanalytic models that can help patients recover from their depressive nature and live comfortable lives.
Major depression is also referred to as clinical depression. The condition is manifested in patients experiencing persistent and severe episodes of low moods that range from sadness, despair, and in some cases, suicidal tendencies are observed. The condition always leads to patients withdrawing from activities that previously they found enjoyable to a state of disinterest and irritability. Major depression episodes, unlike bad moods, are extended with patients recording weeks or even years of appalling moods. Major depression symptoms are vast, with some patients exhibiting anxiety episodes (Pastorino & Doyle-Portillo , 2018). Depressed patients, apart from having a feeling of disinterest, may experience difficulties with sexual functioning and relationship insecurities.
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In some cases, depression can lead to substance abuse and alcoholism. If left unchecked, patients undergoing major depression can step out of reality when psychotic symptoms set in leading to delusions and hallucinations. Major depression further distorts sleep patterns and, in some cases, turn maniac accompanied with severe psychotic symptoms.
Diagnosis and Treatment plan for Major Depression
Diagnosis and treatment models of Major Depression, similar to other mental health illnesses, anchors on the physician's ability to develop comprehensive treatment plans that ensure that the patient is responsive and rehabilitated during the provided period (American Psychiatric Association, 2010). Objectively, treatment plans should consider several factors before deciding on the best plan for treatment. Key aspects considered include the patient's age, physical health, and psychiatric state of the patient. The aspects are instrumental in deciding which plan to introduce for a patient suffering from Major Depression (Pastorino & Doyle-Portillo , 2018). However, since depression and mental illnesses are psychiatric issues, it is imperative that before settling on a treatment regime, physicians refer back to the psychoanalysis theory.
Psychoanalysis theory provides the basis of understanding the patient history, including childhood stages and environments before deciding on an intervention. Psychoanalysis, as a theory, emphasizes the need for making the unconscious conscious. It relates to the need to anchor psychological illnesses on psychological backgrounds through analysis of influences and triggers that might be causing an imbalance between the patients' ego, superego, and id. In the treatment of Major depression, the commonly applied treatment plans include pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), and Integrated cognitive behavioral therapy.
Pharmacotherapy Treatment Plan
Pharmacotherapy is a common intervention at different phases of Major Depression. The majority of physicians prescribe medication to aid patients with hallucinations and psychotic episodes (Donoghue, 2019). The prescription is mainly, after conducting patient psychoanalysis and arriving at conclusions on the causes of the condition. Pharmacotherapy emphasizes the treatment of the symptoms and managing the patient brain chemical imbalance. Once a patient diagnosis is completed, and major depression is affirmed, antidepressants are prescribed to help the patient cope with hallucinations. Among common prescriptions are Serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs), bupropion, and Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs). These medications have pharmacological side effects based on patient tolerance and preference. Pharmacotherapy is always effective at the onset stages of depression, and it is imperative to ensure patients adhere to prescription to avoid relapse (Donoghue, 2019). Pharmacotherapy requires continuous monitoring of dosage and patient response to the drugs.
Psychotherapy Treatment Plans
Psychotherapy as a treatment plan is aligned to the psychoanalysis theory since it allows the physician to interrogate the patient's psychological state. Psychotherapy treatment anchors on talk and behavioral therapies; Examples of such interventions include group talks and sessional discussion between the patient and the physician to help with the patients coping mechanisms including anxiety management, problem-solving, and behavioral management (American Psychiatric Association, 2010). Psychotherapies, as interventions for major depression patients, work best when conducted in groups or individual format (Pastorino & Doyle-Portillo , 2018). The focus should be on aiding the patients coping mechanisms through positive reinforcements. The treatment process should be extended to at least 4-8 weeks before the assessment of patient response. Psychotherapy remains effective at the onset and moderate stages of the condition. In some cases, psychotherapy can be complementary to pharmacotherapy for better outcomes.
Electroconvulsive Therapy
Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) as a treatment plan requires the use of electrical stimulation of the brain while the patient is under anesthesia. As a treatment plan, electric waves are introduced into the brain to provide patients with relief through reversing brain chemical instability caused by mental illnesses. According to American Psychiatric Association (2010), patient diagnosis through MRI should be conducted to evaluate the chemical and physical condition of the brain to evaluate features that include myocardial infarction, cardiac arrhythmias, as well as other properties of the brain before undertaking ECT. The treatment should always be administered twice or thrice a week before achieving a leveled coping phase by the patient.
Augmented/ Integrated Treatment Plan
Augmented treatment plan refers to a combined modality of treatment that comprises both pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, and, in some cases, electroconvulsive therapy. Augmented therapies are beneficial at all stages of Major Depression since it allows for negotiated intervention depending on patient response. The approach provides a comprehensive outlook on patient response to treatment through monitoring of their improvement and side effects to the interventions.
Recommendation
Augmented treatment plans offer an effective treatment model for patients suffering from Major Depression and are highly preferred in Major Depression treatment. Considering the psychoanalysis theory argument that calls on the need for physicians to offer informed decision after accessing all factors that underlie the mental illness case, augmented intervention as a treatment plan allows for a broader treatment spectrum for patients.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2010). Treating major depressive disorder: A quick reference guide. American Psychiatric Association: Washington, DC , 1-28. Retrieved from https://psychiatryonline.org/pb/assets/raw/sitewide/practice_guidelines/guidelines/mdd-guide.pdf
Donoghue, J. (2019). Antidepressants in the treatment of major depression: a changing landscape for clinical decision making. Acute Pain , 10 , 00.
Pastorino, E. E. & Doyle-Portillo, S. M. (2018). What Is Psychology?: Foundations, Applications, And Integration . Cengage Learning.
