DEPRESSION IS CONSIDERED one of the most treatable diseases of the mind. There are a wide variety of treatments available today, including several forms of talk and behavior therapy and a rapidly growing number of drugs. The standard forms of treatment are often used in combination, and it sometimes takes experimenting to find the best treatment for an individual.

Psychoanalysis

Modern methods of treating depression began in the late nineteenth century with Sigmund Freud, a Viennese physician. When many people think of psychiatrists, they see the popular image of Freud: a stern, elderly bearded man with a thick German accent, smoking a pipe in a corner of his office while his patient lies on a couch. Few psychiatrists today continue to use the form of treatment developed by Freud. However, his ideas have had a lasting impact on the field of psychiatry.

Freud was...