Placebo and Antidepressant Treatment for Major Depression

Antidepressant medication is generally considered the primary treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD), but recently antidepressant treatment has approached a crisis with current trials showing shrinking specific effects and growing placebo responses. The aim of the paper is to review the placebo problem within antidepressant treatment for MDD and to draw lines to similar problems within the field of psychotherapy. Although clinicians may profit from the large placebo response in their treatment of MDD, the small differences between active treatment and placebo groups found in controlled studies should be considered a reminder that there is a need for more efficacious treatments for MDD, medical as well as psychological.