supportive therapy

Supportive therapy

Any form of treatment intended to relieve symptoms or help the patient live with them rather than attempt changes in character structure.

Mentioned in: Hypochondriasis

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supportive therapy

Secondary therapy Medtalk Any therapy given in addition to a primary therapy–eg, fluids for sepsis. See Primary therapy.

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Patient discussion about supportive therapy.

Q. Not alone? I don’t feel so I have a cancer of the ovaries, and had operation, and chemo (which was not too bad). My family is very helpful and does everything they can to help me, but I feel alone. I always have this feeling in the back of my mind that the disease can return every day. It makes me feel that even if I currently feel good, I can’t enjoy anything because soon it’ll be over. It’s like these feelings raise some kind of wall between me and all those great people around me, and I pretend to be OK. Does someone else share these feelings?

A. I have worked with many ovarian cancer patients and have seen how difficult it was for them to cope with the disease, the continuous fear of the unkown and losing their ability to go back to normal living. You should look for online groups of women that have gone through the same process as you and contact them. That can be very helpful for you. There's also an organization called "women to women" that I know help with encouraging women to be strong and think positive.

Q. Hello to all, I think I'm gonna need your support... My husband has OCD. it's really hard with him but it's a long story. he also has depression and now I'm developing it too. I feel so down- like there is no way up anymore. Any advice?

A. Living with someone who is suffering both from OCD and depression can be very hard and you deserve a big encouragement for that. However, you must not let yourself become "less important" only because he is officially diagnosed and needs your help. If you are feeling down in any way, you should seek medical or psychological assistance. Perhaps talking to someone on a regular basis will be of great help to you, and perhaps medications can help as well.

Q. How can I go about finding a free depression support group where I live? would like to find a depression support group in my area. How do I go about finding one? Google searches are turning up nothing.

A. Call the help desk or receptionist of your local or nearest hospital or medical clinic.

You could go to an AA meeting in your local community. A lot of people there are depressed. That's what those meetings do for people, they are a support group.

You could also start one and put a community notice in your local paper.

Get together with others you trust and talk.

Call home and talk.

Find a friend and talk.

I pray. God listens.