Antidepressants and talking therapies offer similar benefits for new-onset major depression

This review found no difference in effectiveness or drop-out rates between antidepressants and cognitive behavioural therapy for adults recently diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Both treatments should be offered, as recommended by NICE, either alone or possibly in combination, and the final decision will rely heavily on the patient's preference. The challenge for talking therapies in the NHS has long been a lack of capacity. However, the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme has in the last few years provided thousands of trained therapists who can be accessed through GPs and in some cases directly.
Source: Current Awareness Service for Health (CASH) - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news