[Behavior therapy and/or drug therapy in depression? Critical remarks on published comparative studies].
Are published results of comparative treatment-evaluation studies in depression meaningful for everyday practice? The most recent German- and English-language review-articles and large scale comparative studies--with tricyclic antidepressants, cognitive behavior therapy, and interpersonal psychotherapy--are assessed using a specific list of criteria, in order to find an answer to this question. Basic design problems and specific weaknesses in the pharmacological as well as in the non-pharmacological treatments are identified. It turns out, that the published "statistically significant" results of these studies are not clinically convincing, neither for the pharmacological nor for the two nonpharmacological treatments--not even for the emerging superiority of cognitive behavior therapy. A cost-comparison does not reveal a major advantage of pharmacotherapy. Recommendations for future research and psychiatric practice are derived.
Psychiatrische Universitätsklinik Hamburg.
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D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans
D000928:Antidepressive Agents
Verhaltenstherapie und/oder Pharmackotherapie bei Depressionen? Kritsche Anmerkungen zu Publizierten Therapievergleichsstudien.