The unfulfilled promise of the antidepressant medications

Abstract

● Australia has one of the highest rates of antidepressant use in the world; it has more than doubled since 2000, despite evidence showing that the effectiveness of these medications is lower than previously thought. ● An increasing placebo response rate is a key reason for falling effectiveness, with the gap between response to medications and placebo narrowing. Psychotherapies are effective treatments, but recent evidence from high-quality studies suggests that their effectiveness is also modest. ● Combined treatment with medication and psychotherapy provides greater effectiveness than either alone. ● The number of patients receiving psychotherapy had been declining, although this trend is..