Ask an Expert
Depression is a multi-faceted disease that each individual experiences in a highly personalized way. However, universal questions exist, and should be asked. Click on these questions to watch video answers from doctors and researchers dedicated to understanding and treating depression.
Topics
The Causes of Depression
- What are differences between depression and "the blues?"
- What causes depression?
- Why is the age of onset (the first depressive episode) dropping?
- Why do women have higher rates of depression?
Suicide
- How many suicides and attempts are there per year? How well do we respond?
- Why are male and female suicide rates so different?
- What distinguishes impulsive from non-impulsive suicides?
- What role does resilience play in understanding and preventing suicide?
Depression in Youth
- When does depression typically appear in young people? Why?
- Are college-aged students overmedicated? Undermedicated?
- Does the stigma of depression still exist for college-aged students?
- What are the risks and benefits of giving antidepressants to children?
Depression in Elders
- Why is depression hard to diagnose in the elderly?
- How can depression mimic Alzheimer's or dementia?
- Why is electroconvulsive therapy often used with the elderly?
Depression in the World
- How has the medical field historically viewed depression?
- Do the United States' public policies adequately address depression treatment?
- How do other countries manage depression care?
- How will we understand and treat depression in the future?
Depression Treatments
- Is depression treatable?
- How well do antidepressants work?
- What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)? How does it compare to psychotherapy?
- How effective is Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)?
Meet the Experts
Dr. Richard Friedman is a professor of clinical psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College and a frequent contributor to The New York Times "Science Times."
Dr. Thomas Insel is Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
Dr. Husseini K. Manji is a Senior Investigator at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).
Dr. Helen Mayberg is a neuroscientist at Emory University specializing in depression pathophysiology and treatment.
Dr. William McDonald is a Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Chief of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, and the Director of the Fuqua Center, all located within Emory University.
Dr. Charles Nemeroff is chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University School of Medicine.
Dr. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema is a Professor at the Yale University Department of Psychology.
Dr. Myrna Weissman is a Professor of Epidemiology and Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons and the School of Public Health at Columbia University and Chief of the Department in Clinical-Genetic Epidemiology at New York State Psychiatric institute.
