Study finds new information technology can better help therapists treat their depression patients

By Staff Writer

Studies recently published in the International Journal of Functional Informatics and Personalized Medicine show that information technology and data mining techniques might be able to improve the diagnosis and treatment of depression.

Researchers have developed a system that integrates three different kinds of patient records as well as data describing the mental health of therapists and their interaction with patients. This will allow people to receive highly personalized treatments while enabling therapist to make evidence-based decisions on how to help those with depression.

The program is designed to find patterns in how depression patients are feeling after each visit to a doctor’s office. Researchers said that this could give practitioners new insights into preventing and treating depression. Symptoms of depression often can hinder family life, performance in school and job performance.

Therapeutic boarding schools can help children who suffer from depression by offering individualized education and therapy designed to help them achieve behavioral, social and academic success.