That cognitive-behavioral therapy is effective for the treatment of depression is now known.
In particular, a recent study by Jarret RB E Coll. Published in the magazine Jama Psychiatry (Jarret RB April 7, 2014 Cognitive Behavior Therapy News) has further highlighted how this is equally effective in pharmacotherapy with fluoxetine in reducing the risk of repercussions in patients with Major depressive disorder.
The study involved 523 adult subjects with diagnosis of Major depressive disorder and a score greater than or equal to 14 at the Hamilton depression evaluation scale (Ham-D). The subjects of the study were recruited in clinical centers of excellence.
The researchers used a 3 -phase studio protocol, with an intensive phase of 12 weeks in which all subjects were subjected to cognitive-behavioral therapyan 8-month experimental phase in which among the subjects identified at the highest risk, some have been selected some to be treated again with cognitive-behavioral therapy, others with fluoxetine and others still only with placebo, and one last experimental phase of 24 months to monitor the follow-up over time.
During the follow-up period the subjects were evaluated every 4 months, without subjecting them to any treatment, for a period of 32 months.
Based on longitudinal observation, it was possible to highlight how the treatments with cognitive-behavioral therapy And with Fluoxetine they have almost the same relapse rates.
Although further research is necessary to understand in detail the differences between the psychopharmacological treatments and cognitive treatments for depressionthe results of the research in question once again confirm how cognitive-behavioral therapy is a valid alternative to pharmacological therapies, not only in terms of effectiveness in recovery from the acute depressive phase, but also in terms of maintaining the results obtained.
