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Issue 33 | February 2011 |
A Synthesis of the Evidence: Brief Psychotherapy for Depression in Primary CareClinical guidelines recommend that both pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy should be considered as first-line treatments for depressive disorders. Because primary care settings are often the frontline of treatment, however, pharmacological treatments often take precedence. The perception that psychotherapy is time intensive may contribute to its under-utilization, but recent studies suggest that psychotherapies that are briefer in duration and intensity may be effective in treating depressive disorders. If true, these briefer psychotherapies may be more easily integrated in primary care settings. Recently, investigators at the VA Evidence-Based Practice Center in Durham, NC conducted a systematic review to examine brief psychotherapeutic interventions for depression in primary care. Investigators evaluated two existing good quality systematic reviews and 15 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted between 1982 and 2010 to answer the following four key questions. Question #1
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To view the full report, go to http://www.hsrd.research.va.gov/publications/esp/reports.cfm Reference: Nieuwsma J, Trivedi R, McDuffie J, Kronish I, Benjamin D, and Williams J Jr. Brief Psychotherapy for Depression in Primary Care: A Systematic Review of the Evidence. VA-ESP Project #09-010; 2010 |
Please feel free to forward this information to others! This Management e-Brief is provided to inform you about recent HSR&D findings that may be of interest. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Department of Veterans Affairs. If you have any questions or comments about this Brief, please email CIDER. The Center for Information Dissemination and Education Resources (CIDER) is a VA HSR&D Resource Center charged with disseminating important HSR&D findings and information to policy makers, managers, clinicians, and researchers working to improve the health and care of Veterans. |
This report is a product of the HSR&D Evidence-Based Synthesis Program (ESP), which was established to provide timely and accurate synthesis of targeted healthcare topics of particular importance to VA managers and policymakers - and to disseminate these reports throughout VA. See the full reports online. |