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Depression Can Be Treated via Memory Recall Training

The approach could complement, or sometimes replace, drugs

Sep 18, 2012 14:29 GMT  ·  By
Depression symptoms may be addressed through memory recall training
   Depression symptoms may be addressed through memory recall training

In a paper to appear in a future issue of the journal Clinical Psychological Science, scientists at the University of East Anglia and the Medical Research Council say that memory recall training can contribute to reducing the symptoms of depression in a wide array of patients.

By using Memory Specificity Training (MST), it may be possible for patients to learn how to improve their own memories, by attending 80-minute weekly therapy sessions. This was demonstrated in the new study, PsychCentral reports.

“Including a brief training component that targets memory recall as an adjunct to cognitive-behavioral therapy or prior therapy may have beneficial effects on memory recall and mood,” the research team says.

The new study set out from the fact that depression is oftentimes accompanied by sufferers' inability to remember positive experiences they had in the past.