Low Level of Optimism Predicts Initiation of Psychotherapy for Depression: Results from the Finnish Public Sector Study

Abstract

This study suggests that although both low optimism and high pessimism increase the risk for depression, only low optimism influences the initiation of psychotherapy as a treatment modality for depression. This could imply that depressed patients with low optimism should receive more attention in the beginning of the depressive episode than patients with high optimism.