Abstract
Psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy are the most common treatments utilized in patients diagnosed with depressive disorders. Their efficacy in remitting symptoms and restoring patients to baseline functioning has been established throughout the literature; however, questions still remain on whether pharmacotherapy is necessary in all patients and if used, when initiation is most beneficial. Current guidelines recommend initiating only psychotherapy in patients with mild depression and advancing to pharmacotherapy as appropriate. Evidence-based literature has shown pharmacotherapy to have a significant and independent treatment effect in depressive disorders compared with psychotherapy. Combination treatment with both modalities has also shown to be beneficial for remitting depressive symptoms in this patient population. Therefore, treatment should be individualized for each specific patient based on severity of disease, history of depression and response to treatment, cost of treatment, and patient preference.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 220-222 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine |
| Volume | 11 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2017 |
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All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Health Policy
- Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
Cite this
When Is Pharmacotherapy Initiation Beneficial in Patients With Depressive Disorders? / Prescott, Drew; White, Nicole D.
In: American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, Vol. 11, No. 3, 2017, p. 220-222.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - When Is Pharmacotherapy Initiation Beneficial in Patients With Depressive Disorders?
AU - Prescott, Drew
AU - White, Nicole D.
PY - 2017
Y1 - 2017
N2 - Psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy are the most common treatments utilized in patients diagnosed with depressive disorders. Their efficacy in remitting symptoms and restoring patients to baseline functioning has been established throughout the literature; however, questions still remain on whether pharmacotherapy is necessary in all patients and if used, when initiation is most beneficial. Current guidelines recommend initiating only psychotherapy in patients with mild depression and advancing to pharmacotherapy as appropriate. Evidence-based literature has shown pharmacotherapy to have a significant and independent treatment effect in depressive disorders compared with psychotherapy. Combination treatment with both modalities has also shown to be beneficial for remitting depressive symptoms in this patient population. Therefore, treatment should be individualized for each specific patient based on severity of disease, history of depression and response to treatment, cost of treatment, and patient preference.
AB - Psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy are the most common treatments utilized in patients diagnosed with depressive disorders. Their efficacy in remitting symptoms and restoring patients to baseline functioning has been established throughout the literature; however, questions still remain on whether pharmacotherapy is necessary in all patients and if used, when initiation is most beneficial. Current guidelines recommend initiating only psychotherapy in patients with mild depression and advancing to pharmacotherapy as appropriate. Evidence-based literature has shown pharmacotherapy to have a significant and independent treatment effect in depressive disorders compared with psychotherapy. Combination treatment with both modalities has also shown to be beneficial for remitting depressive symptoms in this patient population. Therefore, treatment should be individualized for each specific patient based on severity of disease, history of depression and response to treatment, cost of treatment, and patient preference.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85019192770&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85019192770&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1559827616686051
DO - 10.1177/1559827616686051
M3 - Article
VL - 11
SP - 220
EP - 222
JO - American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine
JF - American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine
SN - 1559-8276
IS - 3
ER -