Integrating Mindfulness Into Adlerian Therapy as a Medical Alternative Treatment for Depression

Abstract:Antidepressants are often utilized for their immediate effects on increasing activity of neurotransmitters—serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Being effective mainly on a short-term basis, they are accompanied by severe negative, and possibly long-lasting, side effects. Side effects are often overlooked because of the insufficient amount of research involved in the science of prescription of psychiatric drugs and brain chemistry (methods to test biophysiochemical reactions in the brain do not reflect actual brain activity and lack of techniques to measure levels of neuro-transmitters in the synapses between brain cells). This leads to an argument as to whether the brain chemical–imbalance approach to treating depression is sufficient, given that drugs have been shown to create chemical imbalances post-intake. As a conceptual piece, this article utilizes mindfulness methods from current research to reflect on how Adlerian mindfulness training might be beneficial as a treatment alternative to medicine for individuals with depressive disorders in group therapy and individual settings.