Interesting thread. I have several things I'd like to add and I apologize if I come off as being scatter-brained.
To answer the OP: I think it could but:
1) Only in the short term
2) Only with certain types of people
About Point 1: People who have depression for a prolonged period of time develop a warped perception of reality and as such the longer you have it, the more damage it will do and harder it is to fix cognitively.
About Point 2: Some people handle it better than others I think. Some people are more attuned or feel their emotions more powerfully than others. While some might be able to detach themselves from their emotions and their situation and be able to objectively try to pin-point what's wrong, others can be overwhelmed by the onslaught of their emotions and truly do become powerless very quickly to stop it.
Speaking for myself and I'll summarize: I grew up with a lot of negative attitudes about myself and my place in the world and held on to that attitude from the time I was in Kindergarten all the way until high school. Once I reached high school and I got to that point to where teenagers begin figuring themselves out and what it is they want to do and who it is they want to be I looked inside myself and saw....nothing.
Depression, for me, I think was inevitable given my perspectives but it was most emphatically not something I could have gotten over on my own. Having grown up with these perspectives in mind they were, by the time I reached high school, deeply ingrained into my psyche and indeed was one of the cornerstones by that point in time of how I approached the world. Also, my grandfather has SERIOUS bipolar disorder (to where he had to be committed because he got so delusional) and I understand that mental illnesses can be hereditary so that may have influenced it some.
So after 2 hospitalizations for my suicidal behavior, and 6 years of therapy that included medication (In the form of Effexor XR and Seroquel), and a *lot* of introspection, I was able to rebuild myself from the ground up and become the person you see posting this today
I got into an argument once with a person on another message board about whether or not I needed the meds. She told me that I was able to realize these things on my own and
that's what got me through it. I had to stop her and end the discussion because my response to her was
NO. Just....no. You do not understand where I was then, you can not imagine JUST how far deep into the hole I was..
It wasn't until I was on the meds that I was able to begin thinking clearly. I tried repeatedly to explain that to her and she just didn't seem to compute that.
Some people I understand can't take meds because it doesn't work for them or it makes them feel worse and my heart goes out to these folks. To those that can take it though and choose not too...well, the choice is in your hands. Do whatever you feel is right but please remember that you still do have options available.
The last thing I'd like to comment on is people who take meds and expect them to work like Tylenol: That you just take the medication and suddenly everything will get better. It won't. The meds will either fix whatever is wrong with you or level you off enough to where you can regain some footing but, again, depending on how long you've had depression you have to fix the damage that's been done cognitively. If you'd told yourself forever and ever that you're worthless and that nobody will love you, a pill isn't going to change your mind about that...only you will, once you learned to start telling yourself that you ARE a worthwhile person to be around.
Anywho, that's my 2 cents. I apologize for being all over the place but I wanted to get all of my thoughts out there.