If this is their mindset, they might benefit from CBT more than medication.
I'm not against SSRI at all. But after taking them for a few months in my 20's, and experiencing how terrible the withdrawal symptoms are when stopping, I'd be very hesitant to ever start up on them again. I remember having to open up the lowest dose pill capsule and splitting the dose into very tiny increments to be able to wean off completely.
I later learned that CBT can have that effect on people with ADHD, so I attribute that to being a possible explanation.
I still do therapy, but honestly, I think it's a waste of time and money. I predominantly do it for cathartic purposes and so other people/professionals will stop recommending it.
> terrible the withdrawal symptoms are when stopping
I tried one when I was in my early 20s too. I swore I would never take one again. Withdrawals weren't my issue really. It was the clarity I gained after getting off. I realized how awful I was to people around me. I had such blunted emotions, that I basically became devoid of empathy. I also learned that I needed high levels of anxiety to function, which the medication took away from me.
I think I had a somewhat similar experience: before antidepressants, I was practically non-verbal; later, I had the typical brain fog/emotional blunting -- still unable to communicate with the therapist; after adjusting to meds, by the time that I can put the problem into a coherent sentence, I can usually fix it anyway, so what is the therapist for? Is it really just rubber duck debugging, where the duck has a medical degree?
One thing I wasn't able to figure out was ADHD -- I didn't really believe I had it, as my psychiatrist was sure it's not the problem -- everything was explained with depression/anxiety/geniune lack of motivation. Now that I finally have a prescription for stims, seems like it was the other way around: most of the time I would have a feedback loop where my typical fuckups would trigger a downward spiral, and it's almost not a thing anymore; being able to get shit done is just generally such a pleasant experience!
TLDR My depression also wasn't a "true depression" in a sense, but you still need to fix some underlying issue, which is much easier when your thoughts are not all "I'm a failure" shaped
there's a tool on your desk that might help you solve your problem; what does it matter if the problem is an "appropriate response of your body"? so is pain/anxiety/diarrhea