An international research team with the participation of experts from the Medical University of Vienna found that psychotherapy does not provide much benefit in the treatment of severe depression if the patient is already taking antidepressants. They talked about it at the European Psychiatric Congress, past in Budapest.
Researchers analyzed the treatment outcomes of 1279 adult patients with severe depression. All of them took antidepressants, the third received psychotherapy. It was mainly treated by younger, more educated patients who took lower doses of antidepressants. When the scientists compared the results of those who took antidepressants and those who did not, they found no significant difference.
“There are two main points that emerge from our study. First, if you have been treated with antidepressants, additional psychotherapy does not seem to improve treatment outcomes, although it may improve your subjective well-being. The second point is that patients who suffer from severe depression and receive additional psychotherapy have more favorable socio-demographic and clinical characteristics than those who do not receive additional psychotherapy.
The scientists note, however, that the results do not mean that psychotherapy is not effective at all – however, it seems worth reconsidering approaches to managing patients with severe depression.