Psychological therapy must accompany antidepressants in young people
BMJ 2005; 331 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.331.7519.714-b (Published 29 September 2005) Cite this as: BMJ 2005;331:714All rapid responses
Rapid responses are electronic comments to the editor. They enable our users to debate issues raised in articles published on bmj.com. A rapid response is first posted online. If you need the URL (web address) of an individual response, simply click on the response headline and copy the URL from the browser window. A proportion of responses will, after editing, be published online and in the print journal as letters, which are indexed in PubMed. Rapid responses are not indexed in PubMed and they are not journal articles. The BMJ reserves the right to remove responses which are being wilfully misrepresented as published articles or when it is brought to our attention that a response spreads misinformation.
From March 2022, the word limit for rapid responses will be 600 words not including references and author details. We will no longer post responses that exceed this limit.
The word limit for letters selected from posted responses remains 300 words.
I wholeheartedly agree however until I can access psychological
services that have less than a 1 year waiting time, drug therapy remains
one of the few treatment options available.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
Sir:
This brief write up by Susan Mayor(1) is effectively delivering an
important message that several modes of psychosocial therapies are
complementary to or even essential component of the overall management of
depression which may be either mild or moderate or severe or psychotic.
However, in mild to low moderate cases, psychotherapy should be the
treatment of choice. On the other hand, in severe to psychotic depression,
one of the SSRIs should be the initial main mode of biological therapy and
a suitable form of psychotherapy should be added later to the management
of depression, in order to enhance the overall successful response rate of
treatment of depression.
1. Susan Mayor.Psychological therapy must accompany antidepressants
in young people
BMJ 2005; 331: 714-b
POBox.4545, Rashid Hospital, Dubai, UAE.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
Re: Depression: SSRIs and Psychotherapy !
Dear Sir,
I feel that it is important that we do not confuse the point by
mixing our therapies.
The guidelines for the NHS in Wales and England suggest the use "of a
specific psychological therapy, such as cognitive behaviour therapy,
interpersonal therapy, or family therapy." I understand that it is easier
to type 'Psychotherapy' than 'a specific psychological therapy' but as
Psychotherapy is itself a specific form of psychological therapy, it is
misleading.
Furthermore, (and to reinforce that this is not just a case of
semantics) Psychotherapy is unlikely to be the most appropriate form of
therapy for children and young people due to its complex nature. Not to
mention the lack of clear empirical evidence for its effectiveness in
comparison with other psychological therapies, such as Cognitive
Behavioural Therapy.
Therefore, it is important that we follow the clinical guidelines by
the word to ensure effective intervention of depression in children and
young people.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests