"Studies May Overstate The Benefits of Talk Therapy For Depression"

[sKePTiKal]

Well... if a lot of depression is based on ruminant, repetitive, negative self-talk...

then engaging with a persistent and kind human being (therapist or not) who can present new thoughts in a non-threatening fashion... can show the patient the way out of those mental ruts, that support the clutching of depression as a shield to ward off anything unfamiliar or new or scary or sad.

Sure there are a lot of variables. We're talking humans here; not amoebas or algorhythms.

Yes, that's destructive - one has to break the old pattern before establishing a new one. But it breaks the mental ruts/routines; not the person.