'It can be agonising in many ways'
Carol Cattley, 73, had cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) after the death of her husband. She found it to be a painful experience at times, but it gave her the confidence to continue helping herself.
"I had CBT in the millennium year, a couple of years after my husband died. My husband s death hit me really badly, because we had been together for so long. I had suffered from depression as a teenager and was feeling extremely down again.
"One of the things about CBT is that it's a very emotional experience, because as you work through it, you re-live painful experiences. It can be agonising in many ways.
"I had eight or so treatments by the time I finished the course, and I had definitely shaken a lot of things out of myself. It's given me the confidence to be able to help myself.
"The CBT worked for me because I understood what was happening. It was a clearly defined exercise that was obviously leading somewhere, and the truth is that deliberately raking everything up achieved something.
"The psychiatrist gave me a book called Mind over Mood with exercises that you can do on your own. It s a very good book for depression.
"I think CBT is a vital treatment as an alternative to antidepressants.
"It's such a different experience. You feel as if you're in control of your destiny. It s a sensible, rational thing you can do to help yourself."
