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Treating late‐life depression with interpersonal psychotherapy in the primary care sector
Author(s) -
Schulberg Herbert C.,
Post Edward P.,
Raue Patrick J.,
Have Thomas Ten,
Miller Mark,
Bruce Martha L.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
international journal of geriatric psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.28
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1099-1166
pISSN - 0885-6230
DOI - 10.1002/gps.1700
Subject(s) - interpersonal psychotherapy , depression (economics) , intervention (counseling) , psychiatry , primary care , medicine , late life depression , randomized controlled trial , antidepressant , antidepressant medication , interpersonal communication , suicidal ideation , psychology , psychotherapist , family medicine , suicide prevention , poison control , emergency medicine , anxiety , social psychology , cognition , economics , macroeconomics
Background Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) is an empirically‐validated intervention for treating late‐life depression. Objective To determine the manner in which IPT is utilized by primary care physicians in relation to antidepressant medications. Methods The authors reviewed treatment logs prepared by care managers during the first 12 months of a patient's participation in the PROSPECT clinical trial to determine initial and longitudinal treatment patterns utilized by physicians, and clinical outcomes associated with initial treatment assignment. Results Primary care physicians in practices randomized to PROSPECT's intervention arm initially prescribed an antidepressant medication for 58% of eligible patients and referred only 11% of them to IPT. Over time, however, 27% of patients participated in IPT as monotherapy or augmentation therapy. Initial treatment assignment was not associated with depressive status at 4 and 12 months nor with suicidal ideation at 4, 8, and 12 months. Conclusion IPT is an effective treatment for late‐life depression whose greater use by primary care physicians should be encouraged. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.