Therapy Just As Good As Drugs For Depression

A new study published in the April archives of General Psychiatry challenges the widely accepted idea that drugs are the only effective, initial treatment for major depression.

In the initial study, 240 moderately to severely depressed patients were divided into three treatment groups. 120 were treated with the antidepressant Paxil along with either lithium or the trycyclic antidepressant desipramine, if needed, 60 were treated with a placebo pill, and 60 were treated with cognitive therapy. Researchers found that the response rates were similar for both treatment groups.