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Primary care physicians (PCPs) often prescribe antidepressant medications, but only about a third of patients will respond fully to initial pharmacotherapy. When initial pharmacotherapy fails, options include dose escalation, changing agents, or psychotherapy. Brief cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is effective for patients with previously untreated depression, but its role as second-line therapy, added to antidepressant medications, has not been studied well.
Researchers in the U.K. identified 469 depressed adults who had failed to respond to a minimum of 6 weeks of antidepressant therapy. Patients continued to receive usual care by their PCPs (including antidepressants) and were randomized to receive or to not receive 12 to 18 sessions o…