I'd agree that antidepressants are no more effective than CBT but the real evidence lies in the fact when used together we get much better results than using either alone!
On top of this in many countries medication is FAR cheaper than CBT and accessibility to healthcare becomes just another issue.
At the end of the day we need to work with what we can use.
That being said great article, I really enjoyed reading it!
Hello @tfcoates :) Nice to see you here!
What a very valid and relevant point you raised about the cost of CBT and ADM treatments! :/ So, true!
May I ask you what you mean by real evidence? :) I am very glad to hear your enjoyed this post!
All the best.
Thanks for the question, I guess I did miss-word! I didn't mean to imply the evidence you were referring to was flawed in any way
I guess I should have used the term relevant evidence. I guess I mean that comparing antidepressants (SSRIs/ SNRI really as TCAs are a little out of date) against CBT isn't really a useful practice when their efficacies are so similar and when (if both are available) that both should really be used in all cases. Side effects of SSRI/ SNRI are usually quite benign but the added benefit of using them in conjunction with CBT means that combining the two should be considered best practice in all situations.
It would be useful to compare the two methods against each-other would be useful if we were considering using one or the other, but there's not a good argument for just using one in this scenario.
This is all assuming mild-MDD with no other complications, as all the figures go askew once we have other mental health comorbidities.
Am I making sense? :/
Of course it makes sense ! :) Thank you for replying 🌷😊