Can "Hope Therapy" Help Depression?
Can learning to be hopeful help depression? Ohio State researcher Jennifer Cheavens thinks so.
In one study related to this new "hope therapy", 32 people attended therapy sessions two hours a week for eight weeks. They were tested before and after and compared to a group who did not receive therapy.
In the therapy sessions, the participants were taught skills believed to be associated with hope, such as having meaningful goals, a plan to reach those goals and positive self-talk.
At the end of therapy, the group participants had significant changes in self-esteem, life meaning and anxiety compared to those who did not have therapy. There was also a decrease in depression symptoms, although it was not statistically significant.
Said Cheavens, "What I think is exciting about hope therapy is the way we are learning from people who are doing very well. We have been figuring out what hopeful people are doing right, and taking those lessons and developing therapies and interventions for people who are not doing as well."
"The great news," adds Cheavens, "is that it seems to work - we can teach people how to be more hopeful."
The study appears in the journal Social Indicators Research.
Comments
Here we go again. “Hope therapy” seems to be a rehash of all of the usual stuff that’s already been done, just putting it all in a different package. Then, to say there was a difference in depression symptoms but that the difference wasn’t statistically significant? Excuse me, but how much hope is there in that? Positive self-talk? How long has that been around? Goal setting? Of course, if you find realistic goals, make plans to achieve them and then actually do, that’s wonderful. But don’t insult our intelligence (this is not a flame to the guide, more of a reaction to the author of the study) by even publishing this. It creates false hope. Someone sees a “new” therapy, and they even call it “hope therapy”, so of course, hopes are raised. But then when you look a bit more closely, you find that there is nothing really new. Am I missing something or what? Cognitive behavior therapy has been around for a long time. It often goes by different names, “reality therapy” “dialectical behavior therapy” etc. But really! I wish I had a better answer. But if CBT is so great, then why are so many people still so depressed?
Sounds like open the curtanis and let the sunshine in. Or just plain ole snap out of it.how about a goal like getting in the shower? I’m not against the power of pstive thinking, but get real. Deep depression can not be over come by giving people words if so sucide would be down.