Drugs vs. talk therapy: 3,079 readers rate their care for depression and anxiety.
With or without drugs, most people who sought care for depression or anxiety gained relief. A survey of thousands of CR subscribers who recently received treatment for those conditions found that: (1) a combination of talk therapy and drugs often worked best. But "mostly talk" therapy was almost as effective if it lasted for 13 or more visits. (2) "Mostly drug" therapy was also effective for many people. Drugs had a quicker impact on symptoms than talk therapy, but it often took trial and error to find a drug that worked without unacceptable side effects. (3) Forty percent of people who took antidepressants complained of adverse sexual side effects. (4) Care from primary-care doctors was effective for people with mild problems, but less so for people with severe ones.
D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001007:Anxiety / Q000628:therapy*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D016642:Bupropion / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D015283:Citalopram / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003511:Cyclohexanols / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003863:Depression / Q000628:therapy*; D004358:Drug Therapy; D005473:Fluoxetine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D017374:Paroxetine / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011570:Psychiatry; D011584:Psychology; D011613:Psychotherapy; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D020280:Sertraline / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012947:Social Work
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D016642:Bupropion; D015283:Citalopram; D003511:Cyclohexanols; D005473:Fluoxetine; D017374:Paroxetine; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors; D020280:Sertraline