A depression treatment plan is a comprehensive plan that outlines the planned treatment approaches for a patient who is suffering from depression. While there are some typical elements to these treatment plans they are individualized to cater to the unique needs and goals of the individual.
Depression treatment plans are a great way for healthcare providers to track ongoing progress and coordinate a variety of treatment efforts to encourage a holistic approach to the patient’s care. Furthermore, along with tools like EHR software, they can help multiple healthcare providers to stay on the same page as it pertains to a patient’s treatment. A depression treatment plan will outline goals and interventions for the patient in the short and long term.
Treatment Goals for Depression
While treatment goals will vary to some degree based on the individual’s needs, there are several very common broad goals. These include:
- Achieving remission;
- Preventing relapse;
- Improving function;
- Increasing quality of life.
How these common goals are achieved and what this will look like will vary from one patient to another.
Short Term
Short term depression treatment goals may include:
- Establishing care with various specialists and psychological professionals as needed;
- Identifying negative thought and behavioral patterns;
- Recognizing stressors;
- Educating about healthy routines relating to exercise, nutrition, sleep, etc;
- Evaluating underlying mental and physical illnesses;
- Building healthy social connections;
- Developing healthy coping behaviors.
While these can substantially benefit patients in the short term, these should also typically be maintained as ongoing goals as well.
Long Term
Long term treatment goals can include the following:
- Remission;
- Symptom management;
- Relapse prevention;
- Improved behaviors and routines;
- Tracking thought and behavioral patterns over time;
- Refinement of treatment strategies.
Healthcare professionals should regularly check-in with patients to ensure that they are staying on track and to identify any changes or concerns.
SMART Goals
SMART goals are goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound. SMART goals are recommended in a variety of contexts including treatment planning. By using SMART goals, you can ensure that the goals established for the patient are things that they can reasonably achieve and can be easily tracked over time to assess progress. SMART goals also prevent patients from feeling overwhelmed by their objectives. Examples of SMART goals for a depression treatment plan would be:
- Take a ten minute walk three times a week.
- Invite a friend out to lunch.
- Practice guided meditation before bed three times a week.
- Write at least one paragraph in your journal every evening.
- Spend one hour outside every week.
These goals will likely need to change over time, and you should avoid implementing too many so as to avoid overwhelming the patient.
Therapeutic Interventions for Depression
There are many different therapeutic interventions for depression. Often, multiple options will be pursued to improve outcomes. Some popular options include:
- Lifestyle Changes: Various lifestyle changes like regular exercise, improved diet, better sleep hygiene, and more social interaction are all examples of common lifestyle changes that can benefit people suffering from depression.
- Pharmaceutical Interventions: Many medications may be used to treat depression and its symptoms. What medication will work best will depend on the underlying causes of the depression as well as its symptoms.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Cognitive behavioral therapy is an approach that seeks to identify unhealthy thought and behavioral patterns and replace them with healthier routines and coping mechanisms.
- Interpersonal Therapy (IPT): This type of therapy focuses on how relationships influence depression symptoms: identifying these connections, and learning how to navigate your relationships in healthier ways.
- Mindfulness-Based Therapies: This type of therapy seeks to introduce the patient to mindfulness practices that can help them ground themselves, reduce anxiety, and feel present in the moment. It also emphasizes compassion for oneself.
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT): Dialectical behavior therapy essentially combines the approaches of CBT and mindfulness-based therapies to maximize therapeutic outcomes using a more dynamic approach. It largely focuses on giving the patient the skills they need to identify negative thought patterns and address them in a healthy manner.
- Psychodynamic Therapy: This type of therapy focuses on how past experiences affect the patient psychologically in the present. It involves talking through these past experiences, addressing how they affect the patient emotionally, and teaching the patient how to improve their awareness and understanding of themselves and what they experienced. .
The interventions used may need to be adjusted over time depending on the patient’s response to the treatment.
Sample Treatment Plan for Depression
Patient Information
List all relevant patient information, such as name, date of birth, and contact information.
Provider Information
List all relevant provider information, such as name and provider medicaid number
Other Healthcare Providers Involved
List all other healthcare providers who are coordinating on the patient’s care and their contact information.
Plan To Coordinate Services
Designate how often you will meet with the patient to update information and objectives.
Diagnoses
Clearly outline all relevant diagnoses.
Medication(s)
List medications, dosage, and frequency of dosage. Note patient responses to the medication(s).
Short Term Goals
List short term objectives for the patient.
Long Term Goals
List long term objectives for the patient.
Interventions
List current psychological interventions.