There are many ways that people have tried to treat depression. In the past, Freudian psychotherapy has been used with debatable success, and more recently, the use of pharmacological products, which have become ubiquitous in our society. But are there ways to treat depression that are drug-free, effective and long lasting?

One method of treating depression that has been around for decades, but has remained mostly below the radar, at least in mainstream popularity, is the use of cognitive psychology. Its founder, Aaron T. Beck, developed cognitive psychology for the purpose of treating depression, although this branch of psychology has since flourished and is now associated with much more than just treating mental distress.

Beck saw that many people with depression simply had mistaken or irrational thoughts. He began to list and summarize these types of thoughts so that his patients could recognize the error in their beliefs:

• Dichotomous thinking: Seeing everything as black and white. Believing everything is either supremely good or extremely bad; there are no grey areas in life.

• Over-generalizing: Taking a single negative event and concluding that its outcome is the rule, not the exception for all other future events.

• Maximizing and Minimizing: Losing perspective by exaggerating. Believing something trivial is of the highest importance, or underestimating one’s own ability to accomplish something.

As you can see, many of us have shared these irrational thoughts from time to time; however, it is the depressive mind that chronically clings onto these beliefs, dragging its bearer into a continually stressful, gloomy world.

Fortunately, practitioners of clinical and counseling psychology have championed the techniques developed by cognitive psychologists like Beck. Many of those who have battled depression in their life can attest to the effectiveness of using such methods, which don’t rely on potentially harmful drugs.

If you or someone you know is currently suffering from depression, perhaps it’s time that you looked into cognitive psychology.