Michael Porter, the Harvard professor mentioned in his paper on “Value-Based Mental Health Care Delivery”, that value is the singular goal that can unite interests of all healthcare stakeholders. Infact, mental illness has to be managed, instead of treating it as a brief episode that can be cured.
The complexities of a human brain that make it prone to depression and anxiety can be understood by considering the multi-factorial model; genetic disposition works alongside environmental conditions in a viscous repetitive loop to produce symptoms.
Treatment of depression should have a multi-pronged approach; a combination of antidepressants for stabilization and a variation of talk therapy.
Therapeutic relationship with a professional counselor should provide strong support for mood. Cognitive distortions and emotional dysregulation of depression are predictable. When patients recognize these and develop coping skills, it provides them with tools to prevent suicide and make their daily life more than just surviving.
Antidepressant treatment cannot prevent suicide but, with antidepressants, it's more likely that patients will enjoy life. Antidepressants with therapy and social change can help patients if we treat them and patients with respect and don’t promise what we cannot deliver.