Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. It affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. Medications and psychotherapy are effective for most people with depression.  Psychotherapy can help you: Adjust to a crisis or other current difficulty Identify negative beliefs and behaviors and replace them with healthy, positive ones Explore relationships and experiences, and develop positive interactions with others Find better ways to cope and solve problems Identify issues that contribute to your depression and change behaviors that make it worse Regain a sense of satisfaction and control in your life and help ease depression symptoms, such as hopelessness and anger Learn to set realistic goals for your life Develop the ability to tolerate and accept distress using healthier behaviors