The Unfulfilled Promise of Anti-Depressant Medications

An article has been published in the latest edition of the Medical Journal of Australia titled "The unfulfilled promise of antidepressant medications". The article describes Australia's high rate of antidepressant use, despite evidence showing that these medications are less effective than previously thought. The authors describe meta-analytic approaches that have shown smaller effect sizes for the use of antidepressants on children and young people than previously reported, as well as demonstrating an increase in suicidal thoughts and behaviours in some young people on these medications. The authors state that antidepressants have been shown to be more effective when combined with psychotherapy, and that all patients should be offered psychotherapy where it is available.  The authors point out that some patients do have strong positive responses to antidepressants and that there is evidence that antidepressants are effective at preventing relapse to depression.

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