This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Reply to article  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Review of Two Practice Guidelines

Jacqueline B. Persons, PhD; Michael E. Thase; Paul Crits-Christoph, PhD
From the Department of Psychiatry, University of California at San Francisco, and Center for Cognitive Therapy, Oakland, Calif (Dr Persons); Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic, Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pa (Dr Thase); and Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (Dr Crits-Christoph).

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1996;53(4):283-290.

Abstract
We review two recent practice guidelines' assessments of the role of psychotherapy in the treatment of major depression in adults. We examine the practice guideline published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and that published by the Depression Guideline Panel of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research. We focus on the guidelines' evaluations of psychotherapies, their statements about the role of psychotherapy in first-line treatment of depression, and the procedures they recommend for choosing among psychotherapies. We argue that the APA guideline understates the value of cognitive, behavioral, brief psychodynamic, and group therapies. Both guidelines understate the value of psychotherapy alone in the treatment of more severely depressed outpatients. The APA guideline overvalues the role of combined psychotherapy-pharmacotherapy regimens, particularly in view of the greater cost of this strategy. The APA guideline also makes recommendations about choosing among psychotherapies that are not well supported by empirical evidence. We conclude with some guidelines for guideline development.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

Randomised controlled trial of interpersonal psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioural therapy for depression
LUTY et al.
Br. J. Psychiatry 2007;190:496-502.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Familial Depression and Respiratory Illness in Children
Goodwin et al.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2007;161:487-494.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Psychosocial Acute Treatment in Early-Episode Schizophrenia Disorders
Bola
Research on Social Work Practice 2006;16:263-275.
ABSTRACT  

Psychological Functioning of Obese Individuals
Fabricatore and Wadden
Diabetes Spectr. 2003;16:245-252.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Treating Depression in Predominantly Low-Income Young Minority Women: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Miranda et al.
JAMA 2003;290:57-65.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The Science and Practice of Empirically Supported Treatments
Herbert
Behav Modif 2003;27:412-430.
ABSTRACT  

National Trends in the Outpatient Treatment of Depression
Olfson et al.
JAMA 2002;287:203-209.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Quality of web based information on treatment of depression: cross sectional survey
Griffiths and Christensen
BMJ 2000;321:1511-1515.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

A Systematic Review of Newer Pharmacotherapies for Depression in Adults: Evidence Report Summary: Clinical Guideline, Part 2
Williams et al.
ANN INTERN MED 2000;132:743-756.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Evidence-based guidelines for treating depressive disorders with antidepressants: a revision of the 1993 British Association for Psychopharmacology guidelines
Anderson et al.
J Psychopharmacol 2000;14:3-20.
ABSTRACT  

Medications Versus Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Severely Depressed Outpatients: Mega-Analysis of Four Randomized Comparisons
DeRubeis et al.
Am. J. Psychiatry 1999;156:1007-1013.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Practice Guidelines: Rapprochement or Estrangement Between Social Work Practitioners and Researchers
Wambach et al.
Research on Social Work Practice 1999;9:322-330.
ABSTRACT  

Barriers to Development, Utilization, and Evaluation of Social Work Practice Guidelines: Toward an Action Plan for Social Work
Howard and Jenson
Research on Social Work Practice 1999;9:347-364.
ABSTRACT  

Treating Major Depression in Primary Care Practice: An Update of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research Practice Guidelines
Schulberg et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1998;55:1121-1127.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Treatment of Major Depression With Psychotherapy or Psychotherapy-Pharmacotherapy Combinations
Thase et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1997;54:1009-1015.
ABSTRACT  

Talk that works: the rise of cognitive behaviour therapy
Andrews
BMJ 1996;313:1501-1502.
FULL TEXT  

The Role of Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Depression: Review of Two Practice Guidelines
McIntyre et al.
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1996;53:291-293.
ABSTRACT  

The Role of Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Depression: Review of Two Practice Guidelines
Rush
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1996;53:298-300.
ABSTRACT  

The Role of Psychotherapy in the Treatment of Depression: Review of Two Practice Guidelines
Merriam and Karasu
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1996;53:301-302.
ABSTRACT  

Practice Guidelines and Professional Challenges: What Psychotherapists Need to Do
Kocsis
Arch Gen Psychiatry 1996;53:303-304.
ABSTRACT