Treating Depression, NHS Style

An interesting article in The Guardian faults Britian’s NHS for preferring antidepressant medications and simple cognitive behavioral therapy over longer-term, more sustained therapeutic approaches.

Citing a study by the charity Turning Point, the article claims that one third of British people experience depression, and that only one third of these people seek treatment. Those who do seek treatment are almost universally prescribed a round of antidepressants and perhaps cognitive behavioral therapy, neither of which addresses the more fundamental problems that often underlie depression.

See L. Sauma, “There’s no quick fix for depression,” Guardian (17 February 2010)