Four in five mothers suffer some sort of "baby blues" in the first months after giving birth, but 10% develop a full-blown depression. If this hits, it has massive implications for the whole family, as well as you. Assuming you have a choice, which therapy should you opt for?
The main alternatives are antidepressants, cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and psychodynamic psychotherapy. The pills rule out breastfeeding, and in the great majority of cases, even if they do have an effect it is a placebo – people given chalk pills but told they are antidepressants are almost as likely to claim to feel better as people given the real thing.
Regarding the talking therapies, in one study depressed new mothers were randomly assigned to eight sessions of CBT, or to counselling, or to psychodynamic psychotherapy. Eighteen weeks later, the ones given dynamic therapy were most likely to have recovered (71%, versus 57% for CBT, 54% counselling)…
Turn to Freud's psychoanalysis for postnatal depression | Life and style | The Guardian
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