Re:when do you treat depression?

I treat depression whenever it walks in my office door and asks for help.

As far as the effect on creativity, there are numerous artists and celebrity artists who would tell you that they actually feel (or felt) more creative after treatment, not less.

Albert Ellis would back Jim up on the point that therapy does not render one incapable of irrational thought. He would argue that we are irrational by nature, and that rationality is a skill - not a trait. Even after a highly successful round of treatment and years of practice, irrationality reigns and rationality strains. One of Ellis' main points (and I'm sure Beck, Meichenbaum, Maultby, and Pretzer will agree) is that it takes a lot of work over an extended period of time for a person to become and remain rational. (I'm not talking about counseling, I'm talking about therapeutic work outside of the office. The bulk of good therapy takes place away from the therapist and in the real world IMHO.) So if irrationality is required for great art, a successfully treated depression patient will be highly unlikely to ever become so rational as to stifle creativity.

Willie

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