Depression treatments: Does counseling help?

[Emerson]

I am curious to hear what people's experience is of using counseling of any type to combat post TBI depression.  Has anyone approached it solely from a counseling direction?  A combination of medication and counseling?  What is your experience?

I am curious because it seems to me that the whole post TBI depression thing is most likely caused by the destruction/disconnection of neuropathways and altered production of neurochemicals all due to the physical injury to the brain.  Yet, I read where counseling is being used to treat post TBI depression.  There is a study going on at the University of Washington right now about it.

If you want to read more about the big study they just completed regarding the prevalence of Post TBI  Depression I just wrote about it on my external blog Dancing Upside Down.  The correlation is HIGH - over 53% in the first year post TBI.

[BARB GEORGE]

Hi Debra,

You make such a good point (WOW!).  Keeping busy with positive things AND things that show your accomplishments.  I think the brain injury I have hit the 'poor pitiful me' 'button' in my brain... and it is SO hard to get and (most of all) stay out of that negative mindset.  Truth is, none of us (brain injured or not) get enough 'gold stars' in life.  

Some days getting out of bed is deserving of GOLD STAR treatment!  

Thank You!

 

 

[Emerson]

Barb & All, You might want to check out the book The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.  It is in audiobook form too.  Your library may have it.  I have found that listening to it really helps me stay out of the Poor Me mode.

[David McGuire]

I found it was a combination of things. 1) Medication, 2) Counseling, 3) Exercise 4) knowing when it's OK to be depressed and letting myself go through it yet not letting it take over. 

 

Oh and randomly kicking people. Just for no reason. 

 

p.s. Totally kidding about kicking people. I only do that to small pet's that can't fight back. 

[phil espinoza]

I've had some therapy for depression in the past....I really believe that "Ultimately" the answer of being "sad" comes from within ourselves.  I mean, the answer to why we are sad-depressed lies right within us...in our brains.......But theres also different levels of the severity of depression....right?  I do know that if we allow ourselves to be guided by depression....it can create more depression if not faced up to and dealt with.  My own mother had depression much of her life when I was growing up.  She also probably had other mental problems also....but she could be hard to deal with while we grew up as children.  But I do know she never saw a Doctor....so her mental issues were left to her own perception and her own way of dealing with the depression she lived through....It was hard....sometimes......but as kids, we adjusted to her moods and just went through our lives growing up as well as possible.  But, yep, I think it is "crutial" to seek a Psychologist or Psyc as part of your dealing with depression....So, if you feel you need some help....don't be afraid to ask for a Doctor.....But, Don't look for "immediate" answers from your Doctor....He or she, must first listen to your problems...analyze what you tell them and then talk to you about it "to guide you" into coming to terms with your depression.  Give the treatment a chance to work for you...but YOU be a part of your healing also!  Face up to what is bothering you, deep inside you...Okay?  So, if you feel you may need help....Find a Mental Health Psyc soon....Bye and Good Luck..."hang in there"!  Phil E  - And basically, the fact that your asking about this subject, shows me your self-involvement of your depression possibilities....And hey, "Depression" is just a big word for something we each may feel at different levels in life.....basically it amounts to different levels of sadness....and you CAN FIND HAPPINESS.....GIVE YOURSELF TIME IN FINDING ANSWERS.....Take care...Phil E.

[BARB GEORGE]

You have made some wonderful points Phil.  My father was also a life long member of the "miserable club".  He took his own life three months before my accident.  I do not (NOT) mean to demean or make this a light subject... It was awful, for myself and my children.  He would never go for counseling... though his treatment of myself sent ME to treatment for a very long time.  My mother drank.  NOW I understand the big question of WHY.  This was not something we were not prepared for--he had threatened suicide for years... we had talked about it, but in the final moments, he made his choices and it was so unfair to those of us left behind.  With all that in mind, I must include the following:

 

Getting good psych help is REALLLLLLY HARD.  Getting good psych help in the TBI world is even harder.  I pay for my own insurance and my own therapy.  I do not know how long that will last... will I be 'well' by then?  Will my brain be fixed? 

 

I am currently in a battle of my medications.  After several years, I developed seizures -- and the drug they put me on has given me a constant struggle and battle with added (I did NOT NEED) depression+suicide thoughts/actions.  I am NOT in control of these... Every day, until my doctor facilitates the new drug change, I take what I am now calling my death pills... Why?  Because I am supposed to.  Because they are supposed to help me not have seizures.  It has been going on since JUNE.  I go in again on WED for the final START of the change over to a different drug... and who knows what IT will bring... 

 

The chemical JUNK and the fact that the brain works the way it does (or does NOT) + family participation is huge.  I am struggling every day--and I KNOW I am not the only one out there.  YES.  The meds all come with the disclaimers... but who is there to notice and put the bits all together and then relay it to the doctors...???????  My husband has NOT.  He did NOT read the insert until I forced it on him in a rage.  Last weekend.  He is NOT a stupid man--he is a member of MENSA and very very smart-just not real common sense.  

 

This in my opinion is why THESE ONLINE GROUPS ARE SO IMPORTANT.  So many of us ARE isolated and don't REMEMBER THE DETAILS.  I just don't remember these details!  I am lucky to remember the name of the drugs!  

 

Most therapists do NOT deal with the medical sides either... just an afterthought.  

[Emerson]

The big thing here is TBI Depression is very different from Clinical Depression in the type of drugs that work.  The symptoms may be similar but the root cause and thusly what needs to happen to correct it are VERY different from clinical depression.  For most people with TBI Depression it will WORSEN when given the antidepressants used for clinical depression.

The very cool thing is that the right antidepressant drugs can actually help the brain remap in healthier, less depressed pathways.  Counseling can also do that.  However, in my personal experience and also my observations of watching others, I think a combination of medication and counseling work best for TBI survivors.

A side note to Barb:

Another survivor on this site just underwent a test where they had him in the hospital for a couple of days and took him off all seizure meds while having him hooked up to all sorts of machines so they could see what was happening in the brain as he had seizures.  He came away with some good information and his docs are working with him on the results and adjusting his meds.  When you get to the TBI people in Seattle be sure to ask about this.

[BARB GEORGE]

Thanks for the info Emerson!  I will ask on WED about this...not in Seattle though--so we will see...

[Richard Jackson]

 

Are you aware of the Major Depression study taking place through both UW and Emory in Atlanta?

The Harborview Phd. in charge is Robert Fraser, Phd. and Professor in the neurological Vocational Services Unit . He can be reached at [phone] if you have interst in exploring participation in the study.

 They need additional people to participate, so enrollment is available.

[Queenie Alexander]

Does anyone have information about the safety of using antidepressants in brain injured people? A neuropsyche recommended that my partner see a psychiatrist about antidepressants for a depression that is almost not clinically detectable.  I noticed how extremely he was affected by tranquilisers in hospital early in his recovery and had them discontinued.  I am worried that antidepressants could stop him from driving (licence reacquired with such difficulty) and that if he stops taking them the withdrawals could be quite traumatic.  Does anyone have experience of antidepressants and diffuse axonal damage?  (I am also aware that it might be beneficial - but seeking much more info.)

[phil espinoza]

I DON'T REALLY KNOW MUCH "REAL-TIME INFORMATION ABOUT THE SPECIFICS ABOUT THE CHEMICAL CHANGES REGARDING DEPRESSION-BUT IN TERMS OF COUNSELING...I PERSONALLY THINK IT DOES....AND A COMBINATION OF COUNSELING AND MEDICATION IS PRETTY-MUCH THE NORMAL PROCESS OF DEALING WITH DEPRESSION PATIENTS....I BELIEVE THE COUNSELING ENABLES US TO "GET THINGS OUT INTO THE OPEN."  OF COURSE, HORMONAL CHANGES MAY CONCERN SOME CASES, CONCERNING OUR DEPRESSION.  WHAT COULD BE CAUSING MUCH OF THE DEPRESSION, ETC.  I WOULD PERSONALLY LIKE TO HAVE A PSYCHIATRIST ANALYZE ME AND INDICATE TO ME THEIR PROFESSIONAL OBSERVATIONS...I MEAN, WHAT THEY MAY SEE IS GOING ON....SOMETIMES A COMBINATION OF THEIR OBSERVATIONS AND SOME SELF ANALYSIS IS ESSENTIAL IN ORDER TO FIND SOME FORM OF ANSWER WHICH CAN BE SELF-ANALYZED BY THE PATIENT, ALONG WITH THE DOCTOR'S HELP....YES, IT DOES MAKE A DIFFERENCE....UNDOUBTEDLY. I PERSONALLY FIND IT VERY "CALMING" TO BE ABLE TO MAKE SOME FORM OF DETERMINATION OF WHAT REALLY MAY BE CAUSING THE DEPRESSION,  PHIL ESPINOZA