Dear Mrs S,

There are several treatments available for your depression but the two most
effective ones are psychotherapy and antidepressant medication. During
psychotherapy, you will talk to a therapist and learn about your condition,
feelings, thoughts and behaviours which will help you learn how to take control
of your life and respond to challenging situations with healthy coping skills. Its
effectiveness varies per person but may sometimes be just as or more
effective than medication. Psychotherapy may be suitable for you because it is
more personalised to your needs and has no side effects such as medication,
but it may take longer to produce benefits and is hard to keep track of.

Your other option is antidepressant medications, which increase chemicals in

the brain called neurotransmitters such as serotonin and noradrenaline that
are linked to mood and emotion. Antidepressant medication is the most
effective treatment for relieving symptoms quickly but it can vary depending on
dosage and other factors.
Taking this medication saves you from any office visits and homework and is
very safe and effective but there are many side effects such as addiction,
weight gain and digestion problems.

In some cases, a combination of these two treatments would be most effective

because it balances out some of the advantages and disadvantages of both
treatments.