The clinical case management of clients with major depression

In the field of mental health, clinical case management represents a set of interventions that feature ongoing support to persons with chronic mental disorders. In this paper a specific case management approach to working with persons having major depression is outlined. The causes of depression may be primarily biological, but psychological and social conditions also have impact on the course of the disorder. The clinical case management approach includes a variety of interventions which attend to both counseling and environmental work and accommodate the changing severity of the client's depression over time. The interventions described include ego support, crisis intervention, interpersonal therapy, and cognitive-behavioral techniques. Case examples are included as illustrations.