Depression
Conditions
Brief summary
This study will compare a brief form of counseling to usual care for the treatment of minor depression in the primary care setting.
Detailed description
Minor depression is one of the most common types of depressive disorders seen in primary care. The effectiveness and tolerability of antidepressants in patients with minor depression is unclear, and the development of alternative treatments is necessary. In the first phase of this study, participants are observed for 4 weeks to identify those most in need of depression-specific treatment. Participants are then exposed to the Problem-Solving Treatment for Primary Care (PST-PC), a six-session behavioral treatment for depression. After 4 weeks, patients who do not respond adequately to the treatment are randomly assigned to either continued PST-PC or to usual care for 9 weeks. Participants are followed for 6 months after the study.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALProblem-Solving Treatment for Primary Care
Sponsors
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Primary care patient at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) * Hamilton Depression Score \>= 10 and minor depression at time of entry and after 4 weeks of observation
Exclusion criteria
* Psychosis, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) * Active substance abuse * Receiving treatment for depression
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed