Depression is a common mental health problem, especially in the student group. Paroxetine hydrochloride is a commonly used antidepressant drug, and artistic psychodrama and ideological education can help students understand and deal with emotional problems.

The study selected 100 college students with depression and randomly divided them into intervention group and control group. The intervention group received a 12-week art psychodrama and ideological and political education course, supplemented with paroxetine hydrochloride. While the control group only received paroxetine hydrochloride treatment. It took a normal course of three weeks. Efficacy was assessed using the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and the Self-rating Scale (SDS) after the treatment sessions.

After the end of the treatment course, the depressive symptoms in the intervention group were significantly reduced, and the HAMD score and SDS score were significantly lower than those in the control group (P <0.05). The cure rate and overall response rate in the intervention group were also significantly higher than those in the control group (P <0.05). In addition, the mental health level and self-awareness were also significantly improved in the intervention group.

The combined application of artistic psychodrama and political education combined with paroxetine hydrochloride on depression treatment is significantly better than drug treatment, and the proposed treatment program can improve students’ mental health and self-cognition ability.