“Can I treat depression at home?”

In my experience as a primary care physician, most patients with depression are treated *at home*. They may be seeing a therapist one or more times a week. They will probably be on some medication(s). But they don't have to be hospitalized to treat their illness. If the intent of this treatment option does not allow for medication use, I think that treatment options will be limited. It is possible that some patients could be managed with outpatient therapy sessions, family involvement, and techniques that can be employed by the depressed person,
such as meditation, visualization exercises, religious exercises, music therapy, assigned readings, and others.
I want to reiterate that these patients who do not seem to need medications - or do not want them - have less severe depression, and the hope is that these nonpharmacologic treatments will be at least partly effective. It is also important to point out that these two general
treatment approaches - medications and nonpharmacologic treatments - are *not* mutually exclusive. Medications can be used by patients who are involved in any number of other treatment options. In fact, this is the most common way depression is treated in the outpatient setting.