Nature vs. nurture: psychopathology

Psychopathology: the study of mental illnesses/abnormalities

I'm really torn in the 'nature vs. nurture' debate with regards to psychopathology so I'm going to try and hold as much of a holistic view as possible. We've been studying this in Psychology and I've been pondering on it a lot.

Essentially, many psychological abnormalities are caused by an imbalance of neurotransmitters/hormones in the brain. For example, high levels of dopamine= potential schizophrenic. There is also no doubt that medication can relieve the symptoms of certain mental disorders. However, can drug therapy really be defined as a cure?

I'm more drawn towards the idea that, in some cases, these abnormalities can be triggered by our cognition/thought processes alone: leading to a change in our very biology. The potential for depression is there within us all, it surfaces through our environment, our experiences, external processes. For example, an individual may be regarded as psychologically healthy, then something traumatic happens to them, causing them to become depressed, or have bipolar. The predisposition for that mental state already existed, but the world around them simply revealed it.

Biological methods for managing depression do work... whilst you're taking them. If a person is to cease taking their medication, it is highly likely that they will relapse. I feel that, sometimes, cognitive therapy is the only way which an individual can take the first steps towards becoming healthier and happier. Issues must be discussed. And if you do not wish to do that, it is essential that they must at least be expressed otherwise they will simply build up, repressed, and surface in much uglier ways.