THE EFFICACY OF PSYCHOTHERAPY IN NON-BIPOLAR DEPRESSION - A REVIEW

A review of efficacy studies on psychotherapy of depression is made. B ased on the available literature, there is evidence of effectiveness o f cognitive and interpersonal therapy in the treatment of mild to mode rate depression. To a lesser degree, the effect of psychoanalytically oriented and behavioural therapy has been documented. The effectivenes s of psychotherapy among in-patients and patients with severe depressi on has not been documented. No studies have documented a preventive ef fect of psychotherapy on future recurrent depressive episodes. In recu rrently depressive patients who respond to a combination of imipramine and interpersonal psychotherapy, maintenance treatment with interpers onal psychotherapy may prevent new episodes, but not as effectively as maintenance therapy with imipramine.