A few ideas for psychology projects concerning clinical depression can come from pregnant women populations. Anti-depressant medications taken during pregnancy pose a risk to the developing fetus, which is why many pregnant women do not use anti-depressants during this time. Research also points to the fact that depression in pregnant women often predicts postpartum depression following childbirth. Ideas for psychology projects involving these issues could focus on treating clinically-depressed, pregnant women with certain therapies--such as interpersonal psychotherapy or other alternative therapies and treatments--to determine which best improves depression during pregnancy in the absence of anti-depressant medications. A study could also focus on developing effective therapies and treatment programs to prevent subsequent postpartum depression in already-depressed, pregnant women.
Depressed patients often have dysregulated or hyper-active cortisol-producing systems (cortisol is a stress hormone) as well as abnormally-low levels of the brain chemical serotonin. In general, the cortisol-production and serotonin system interact and play a significant role during depression. Though major anti-depressant medications (e.g. Celexa and Prozac) boost serotonin levels for many depressed patients, research suggests that ant-depressants fail to counteract hyper-active cortisol levels. Psychology projects that focus on one or more aspects of these systems can contribute to future research in the field. A research project could focus on developing effective treatment programs that affect both cortisol levels and serotonin. For example, a project might develop and test a treatment program for depressed patients that uses both anti-depressant medications and other alternative treatments that positively affect cortisol levels, such as massage therapy, yoga or meditation. A research report that explains on implications of long-term treatments with this type of program could be written.
Adult depression can often originate during the childhood or teenage years, which makes this developmental period important for studying depression. Anti-depressant medications can be used to treat childhood depression in some cases, but an over-abundance of research for effective treatments for child and adolescent depression does not exist. Psychology projects might focus on subjecting groups of clinically depressed children and adolescents to various forms of psychotherapy, such as individual, group or family therapy to evaluate each one's effectiveness. This type of project can lead to conclusions that support the use of one treatment over another to relieve child and adolescent depression. Longitudinal study projects could follow the groups of treated children and adolescents through adult years to find out whether clinical depression re-occurred.