DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT OF DEPRESSION IN PRIMARY MEDICAL-CARE PRACTICE - THE APPLICATION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS TO CLINICAL-PRACTICE

Approximately 50% of persons experiencing clinical depression seek hel p for this disorder from their primary care physician. This pattern of help-seeking has stimulated interest in providing appropriate treatme nt for depressed primary medical care patients. While the efficacy of both psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy for depression have been demons trated in the mental health specialty sector, current research endeavo rs to establish the effectiveness of such treatments when provided to primary medical care patients. We review and discuss the clinical. pra ctical. and methodological issues pertaining to the transfer of depres sion research to routine primary care practice. Possible directions fo r future research which will inform the continued applicability of res earch findings to routine practice are discussed. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.