Treatment with antidepressants and psychotherapy are the two main methods for combating depression and anxiety disorders. Many studies have investigated their effectiveness with mixed results, and many experts believe that a combination of medication alone and work with a psychotherapist is beneficial. Scientists from the USA conducted a meta-analysis of existing scientific publications on the subject and found the most effective tactics for relieving symptoms of depression.

Treatment of depression takes a long time: firstly, the course of treatment usually lasts at least a year, and secondly, the selected drugs are not always effective. Antidepressant and dosage are usually selected based on experience. Drugs may not be suitable for a person due to their health characteristics, may increase the symptoms of depression, cause various side effects or have no effect on the mental and emotional state. When the drug has to be changed, feelings of disappointment, distress and hopelessness are added to the existing symptoms, which negatively affects the treatment.

One of the main tasks of researchers studying depression is to make cases where the patient has to change tactics as rare as possible. Recent studies have identified six biotypes of depression and have indicated which methods are most effective for each of them, as well as explained why exercise has an antidepressant effect. It has also been confirmed that belief in its effectiveness plays a major role in treatment: positive dynamics were observed even in those who took a placebo to combat depression.

Experts from the Washington Health Research Institute and Northwestern University (both in the US) compared the effectiveness of antidepressants and psychotherapy, the main methods used to combat depression. They published the results of a large meta-analysis Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Both methods were effective. Antidepressants showed little to moderate effectiveness compared with placebo, but managed symptoms worse than psychological methods. For psychotherapy versus pure medication, the higher efficacy index ranged from 0.50 (for short-term dynamic psychotherapy) to 0.73 (for behavioral activation).

Cognitive therapy, interpersonal therapy, mindfulness-based therapy, and problem-solving therapy have also been identified as effective psychotherapy methods for depression. Twenty-one drugs were classified as effective antidepressants: bupropion (“Wellbutrin”), citalopram (“Celexa”), duloxetine (“Cymbalta”), escitalopram (“Lexapro”), fluoxetine (“Prozac”), paroxetine (“Paxil”), sertra (“Zoloft”), venlafaxine (“Effexor”), fluvoxamine (“Luvox”), amitriptyline (“Elavil”), desvenlafaxine (“Pristiq”), levomilnacipran (“Fetzima”), milnacipran (“Savella”), “Remeron “), nefazodone (“Serzon”), vilazodone (“Viibrid”), agomelatine (“Valdoxan”), clomipramine (“Anafranil”), vortioxetine (“Brintellix”), reboxetine (“Edronax”), and trazodone (“Desyrel”) ).

According to meta-analysis, the most effective tactic should be considered to be the combination of antidepressants and psychotherapy. When the treatment was combined, the outcome was significantly better than when medication or psychotherapy was used alone.