title: Critique of the guidelines for the treatment of depression: flaws in the construction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the likely utility of the recently published Australian and New Zealand clinical practice guidelines for the treatment of depression.
  
  
  METHODS
  The guidelines are critiqued for their intrinsic logic and their success in extracting potentially valid and useful management templates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This paper provides examples of key limitations to many specific interpretations and conclusions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is argued that these guidelines are far less precise and informative for clinical practice than they appear and with a disturbing lack of rigour for a document promulgated by a professional college.
authors.affiliation: University of New South Wales, Randwick, Australia. g.parker@unsw.edu.au
authors.forename: Gordon
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Parker
mesh_terms: D001315:Australia; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008605:Mental Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic / Q000592:standards*