Recommendations for treatment of unipolar depressive disorder

Abstract

Depression is a common mental disorder with a high burden of disease worldwide and requires effective treatment. On behalf of the General Advisory Council for Psychiatry, clinical recommendations were formed to help clinicians make de-cisions to improve the treatment of patients with unipolar depressive disorder; several international guidelines served as the basis for developing these recommendations. In terms of therapeutic approaches, pharmacological treatment is discussed with additional recommendations on the management of a partial response to treatment and treatment resis-tance. Psychotherapy, psychoeducation, and other psychosocial approaches represent non-pharmacological interventions for the treatment of depressive disorder. Biological methods for treating depression include non-invasive brain stimulation methods. The second part of the recommendations addresses special populations: children and adolescents, the elderly, and the treatment of depression in the perinatal period.