Horizon: A Case of Depression (1971)

A programme dealing with depressive illness and methods of treatment which cover psychotherapy, drugs and more drastic treatments like E.C.T. and brain surgery.

A woman comes into a doctor's surgery, complaining of depression. Here a unique and complicated problem begins. First of all, the doctor has to decide whether the woman's story is genuine. If so, are her fits of depression the result of something in her home life or her work? Or could it be the symptom of another completely separate illness? It could also be due to an effect of her early upbringing, or the condition could be inherited. All these are possibilities. All the doctor can do is ask a few questions. On top of this, even if a diagnosis is made accurately, how effective is the treatment available? There are psychotherapy or drugs and more drastic treatments like shock and leucotomy.
Can doctors be trained to deal adequately with the alarming increase in depression cases or is it beyond the powers of modern psychiatry?

Narrator: Paul Vaughan

Editor: Peter Goodchild

Producer: Brian Gibson "

Duration: 42 minutes