Depression, Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture: What are the Benefits in Treating Depression? A Narrative Review of the Literature

Depression is one of the most prevalent mental disorders in the world, and although there are various treatments, they are not always effective. For this reason, interest in alternative and complementary approaches has been growing, particularly acupuncture. This study aims to conduct a narrative literature review to investigate the impact of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and acupuncture in treating depression. This work includes 16 studies published between 2015 and 2024, which the researchers searched in the PubMed and ScienceDirect databases. The results show that TCM and acupuncture can have a positive impact on reducing depressive symptoms and can be an effective therapeutic intervention, either as a single treatment or as a complementary intervention to the pharmacological therapy characteristic of Western medicine. Based on the findings, researchers can conclude that TCM and acupuncture are beneficial in the treatment of depression and cause no side effects for the individual.