The general practitioners who did not prescribe antidepressants to
21% of patients in response to these two simple self assessments are to be
applauded for their circumspection. Those that failed to refer the 77% to
specialized services are not. As noted in this journal, in February 2007
Kirsch and colleagues concluded, "there seems little evidence to support
the prescription of antidepressant medication to any but the most severely
depressed patients." Your editorial giving the chemicals the benefit of
the doubt (as opposed to a demand for scientific rigor)also did not give a
rousing endorsement of a chemical only approach. (March 4, 2008)
The value of supportive therapy has been well documented. The
failure to refer more patients to supportive services needs to be
explained.
Rapid Response:
And it's a good thing!
The general practitioners who did not prescribe antidepressants to
21% of patients in response to these two simple self assessments are to be
applauded for their circumspection. Those that failed to refer the 77% to
specialized services are not. As noted in this journal, in February 2007
Kirsch and colleagues concluded, "there seems little evidence to support
the prescription of antidepressant medication to any but the most severely
depressed patients." Your editorial giving the chemicals the benefit of
the doubt (as opposed to a demand for scientific rigor)also did not give a
rousing endorsement of a chemical only approach. (March 4, 2008)
The value of supportive therapy has been well documented. The
failure to refer more patients to supportive services needs to be
explained.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests