Nursing Care Plan for Depression
Also searched as: major depressive disorder
Persistent low mood and loss of interest affecting function and safety. Nursing care prioritizes safety, therapeutic rapport, and support.
🎓 Educational example. Adapt to your patient and have your instructor review it. Not medical advice.
⚠️ Time-critical condition. Depression can deteriorate quickly. This page is a study example, not a clinical protocol: at the bedside follow your facility's policy, escalate to the provider or rapid response team, and never delay treatment to consult a study resource.
📞 If you or someone you know is in crisis or thinking about suicide, call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org (988 Lifeline, United States). Outside the US, call your local emergency number. At the bedside, follow your facility's suicide-risk protocol.
Build your own Depression care plan in minutes → the free Care Plan Builder walks you from assessment to evaluation and exports a clean PDF.
What do you assess in the Depression care plan?
- Subjective: sadness, hopelessness, sleep/appetite change, possible thoughts of self-harm
- Objective: flat affect, poor eye contact, psychomotor slowing, poor self-care
Which nursing diagnoses apply to Depression?
Risk factors: expressed hopelessness, mood symptoms
What are the goals and expected outcomes for Depression?
Each goal below follows the SMART format: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound.
- The patient will remain safe and free of self-harm throughout the care period.
- The patient will identify one support and one coping strategy before discharge.
What are the nursing interventions for Depression, and why?
| Intervention | Rationale |
|---|---|
| Assess suicide risk directly and provide a safe environment; follow protocol. | Direct assessment and safety measures prevent harm. |
| Establish a trusting, nonjudgmental therapeutic relationship. | Rapport supports engagement and disclosure. |
| Administer and monitor antidepressants; note delayed onset and side effects. | Medication is effective but takes weeks; monitoring supports adherence and safety. |
| Encourage structure, activity, and connection to support/therapy. | Behavioral activation and support improve mood over time. |
How do you evaluate the Depression care plan?
- Patient remains safe
- Engages with staff and supports
- Verbalizes a coping strategy
Where do these Depression recommendations come from?
Stop rewriting care plans by hand
The free Care Plan Builder assembles a care plan for 91 conditions (assessment, diagnosis, SMART goals, interventions with rationale) that you can copy, print or save as PDF.
Build a care plan freeDepression care plan: FAQ
What is the nursing diagnosis for Depression?
Common nursing diagnoses include: Risk for self-directed harm related to feelings of hopelessness. Choose the one your patient's assessment data supports.
What are nursing interventions for Depression?
Key interventions: Assess suicide risk directly and provide a safe environment; follow protocol.; Establish a trusting, nonjudgmental therapeutic relationship.; Administer and monitor antidepressants; note delayed onset and side effects., each paired with a rationale.
Can I use this care plan for my assignment?
Use it as a study example and starting draft. Always adapt it to your specific patient and have it reviewed by your instructor. This is an educational tool, not medical advice.
For nursing education only, NOT medical advice and not a clinical decision-making tool. Nothing here should be used to assess, diagnose, or treat any real patient. Care plans and answers are unverified study drafts to review with your instructor or a licensed clinician and adapt to the individual patient and your institution’s protocols before any use.
Educational content based on standard nursing practice; not medical advice and not affiliated with NANDA-I/NIC/NOC. Always follow your institution's protocols and your instructor's guidance.