Zoloft Alternatives

Therapy as a Zoloft Alternative

Many forms of psychotherapy, including some short-term (10 to 20 weeks) therapies, can help people with depression. "Talk" therapies help patients gain insight into and resolve their problems through verbal exchange with the therapist, sometimes combined with "homework" assignments between sessions. Behavioral therapists help patients learn how to obtain more satisfaction through their own actions and how to unlearn the behavioral patterns that contribute to or result from their depression.

 

 

Other Depression Medications

Fortunately, there are many medications available to treat depression. These medications include:

 

Zoloft is an SSRI. SSRIs are usually very effective at treating depression and usually do not have many serious side effects. They work by increasing the level of serotonin available for cells of the brain. In addition to Zoloft, these medications include:

 

These antidepressants are very similar to SSRIs, except that they also affect norepinephrine (another chemical in the brain). SNRIs used to treat depression include:

 

Milnacipran (Savella^™) is an SNRI that is not approved for the treatment of depression (although it may be used off-label for this purpose). 

 

Monoamine oxidase inhibitors are a class of older medications used for treating depression. There are many serious food and drug interactions with MAOIs. Because of this, MAOIs are usually used only if other medications for depression have not been effective. Examples of these types of depression medication include:

 

Tricyclic antidepressants are another older class of antidepressants. Due to certain side effects, they are generally not recommended for elderly people. These types of depression medicine include:

 

There are several other antidepressants available, including:

 

Sometimes, stimulant medications such as methylphenidate (Ritalin^®) are used to treat depression when other medications have not helped, although stimulants are not approved for this use.