Recent developments in the psychotherapy of depression

Abstract

The effectiveness of several types of psychotherapy for ambulatory, nonpsychotic depressed patients has been demonstrated in controlled clinical studies. Psychotherapy combined with antidepressant drug treatment appears to be the most effective form of treatment for most outpatients with major depression, although either treatment alone can be effective for patients who will not accept both. There is no evidence for negative interactions between psychotherapy and drug treatment. Interpersonal psychotherapy, cognitive therapy, and intensive psychodynamic cognitive therapy are types of individual psychotherapy that appear to have particular relevance for depression.