Brief Psychotherapy for Depression in Primary Care: A Systematic Review of the Evidence

Nieuwsma JA, Trivedi RB, McDuffie J, Kronish I, Benjamin D, Williams JW. Brief Psychotherapy for Depression in Primary Care: A Systematic Review of the Evidence. Washington (DC): Department of Veterans Affairs (US); 2011.

The individual and societal burden of depressive disorders is widely acknowledged, but treating these disorders remains challenging. Clinical guidelines recommend that both pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy should be considered as first-line treatments. Yet, because primary care settings are often the frontline of treatment, pharmacological treatments take precedence. In part, this may be due to the perception that psychotherapy is lengthy and time intensive, with guidelines recommending 12 to 20 1-hour sessions for most evidence-based psychotherapies. However, recent evidence seems to suggest that psychotherapies that are briefer in both duration and intensity may be efficacious in acute-phase treatment. If true, these briefer psychotherapies may be more easily integrated in primary care settings.