Psychotherapy for depressive states is possible in various forms: individual, family and group.    

The group form of psychotherapy gives patients additional opportunities to overcome their interpersonal problems in social situations. The family form of psychotherapy is used in cases where painful manifestations threaten the preservation of the family or increase the level of conflict in it. Family is often a constant stressor contributing to depression.    

Role therapy for depression includes planned activities, self-observation techniques, social skills training, and behavioral family therapy. Various studies have shown an increase in the rate of positive reactions in 50% of cases of role therapy. American researchers have prescribed one of three types of treatment for patients aged 55 years with severe depression : therapy for solving social problems and therapy with memories. The first treatment option turned out to be more effective than the second one.       

The goal of psychoanalytic therapy for depression is to correct the patient’s self-esteem and aspirations, the personality structure as a whole, as well as to eliminate unresolved conflicts in early childhood, which, according to the adepts of psychoanalysis, play an important role in the formation of subsequent depressive reactions. As a result, the patient acquires the opportunity to “experience normal psychological sadness,” and the range of emotions he experiences expands .         

In the work of the psychoanalyst with a patient suffering from depression, the importance of analyzing the phenomenon of countertransference is emphasized. It is noted that the statements of the psychotherapist beginning with “but …” are not very successful, since they stimulate the patient’s resistance.    

Modern eclectic – integrative methods of depression psychotherapy are of interest . An example of such a treatment option for persistent depressive states is the cognitive -behavioral analytic therapy system.