Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-8bhkd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T11:40:20.676Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Help-Seeking in Depressed Out-patients Following Maintenance Therapy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Myrna M. Weissman  and
Stanislav V. Kasl
Myrna M. Weissman*
Affiliation:
Yale University School of Medicine and Connecticut Mental Health Center, Depression Research Unity 904 Howard Ave, Suite 2A, New Haven, Connecticut 06519
Stanislav V. Kasl
Affiliation:
Yale University School of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, 408 LEPH, 60 College Street, New Haven, Connecticut 06510
*
Requests for reprints should be addressed to Dr Weissman.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

This paper reports on the clinical status, help-seeking and subsequent treatment experiences of 150 women one year after they had completed out-patient maintenance treatment by amitriptyline and/or psychotherapy for a depressive episode.

While the majority of patients were asymptomatic at follow-up, a substantial minority had a return of acute symptoms and 2 per cent made minor suicide attempts during the year. Admission to hospital was rare. However, only 30 per cent of the patients did not seek any treatment during the year and the majority received some psychotropic medication.

The findings support the long-term need for prompt access to treatment by patients who have recovered from an acute depression.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 129 , Issue 3 , September 1976 , pp. 252 - 260
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1976 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1968) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Second Edition. Washington, D.C. Google Scholar
Covi, L., Lipman, R. S., Derogatis, L. R. et al (1974) Drugs and group psychotherapy in neurotic depression. Amer. J. Psychiatry, 131, 191–8.Google Scholar
Derogatis, L. R., Lipman, R. S., Rickels, K. et al (1974) The Hopkins Symptom Checklist (HSCL): A self-report symptom inventory. Behavioral Science, 19, 1–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DiMascio, A., Klerman, G. L. & Prusoff, B. A. (1975) The relative safety of amitriptyline in maintenance treatment of depression. J. nerv. ment. Dis., 160, 34–41.Google Scholar
Deykin, E., Weissman, M. M. & Tanner, J. (1975) The participation of depressed women in psychotherapy. J. nerv. ment. Dis., 160, 42–8.Google Scholar
Friedman, A. S. (1975) Interaction of drug therapy with marital therapy in depressed patients. Arch. gen. psychiat., 32, 619–37.Google Scholar
Gurland, B., Yorkston, J., Stone, A. R. et al (1972) The structured and scaled interview to assess maladjustment (SSIAM). I. Description, rationale, and development. Arch. gen. Psychiat., 27, 259–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hamilton, M. (1960) A rating scale for depression. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiat., 23, 56–62.Google Scholar
Haskell, D., DiMascio, A. & Prusoff, B. A. (1975) Rapidity of symptom reduction in depression treated with amitriptyline. J. nerv. ment. Dis., 160, 24–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hollingshead, A. (1957) Two Factor Index of Social Position. Copyright, Yale University.Google Scholar
Klerman, G. L. & Cole, J. O. (1965) Clinical pharmacology of imipramine and related antidepressant compounds. Pharmacol. Rev., 17, 101–41.Google Scholar
Klerman, G. L. DiMascio, A., Weissman, M. M., Prusoff, B. A. & Paykel, E. S. (1974) Treatment of depression by drugs and psychotherapy. Amer. J. Psychiatry, 131, 186–91.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mindham, R. H. S., Howland, C. & Shepherd, M. (1972) Continuation therapy with tricyclic antidepressants in depressive illness. Lancet, ii, 854–5.Google Scholar
Paykel, E. S. & Dienelt, M. N. (1971) Suicide attempts following acute depression. J. nerv. ment. Dis., 153, 234–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paykel, E. S., DiMascio, A., Haskell, D. & Prusoff, B. A. (1975) Effects of maintenance amitriptyline and psychotherapy on symptoms of depression. Psychol. Med., 5, 67–77.Google Scholar
Prusoff, B. A. & Klerman, G. L. (1974) Depressed and anxious out-patients: use of discriminant function analysis for separation of neurotic states. Arch. gen. Psychiat., 30, 302–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raskin, A., Schulterbrandt, J., Reatig, N. & McKeon, J. J. (1969) Replication of factors of psychopathology in interview, ward behavior and self report ratings of hospitalized depressives. J. nerv. ment. Dis., 148, 87–98.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robins, E. & Guze, S. (1972) Classification of affective disorders: the primary-secondary, the endogenous, and the neurotic-psychotic concepts. In Recent Advances in the Psychobiology of Depressive Illness. DHEW Publication #(HSM) 70–9053.Google Scholar
Spoerl, O. H. (1974) Treatment patterns in prepaid psychiatric care. Amer. J. Psychiatry, 131, 56–9.Google Scholar
Weissman, M. M. & Klerman, G. L. (1973) Psychotherapy with depressed women: an empirical study of content themes and reflections. Brit. J. Psychiat., 123, 55–61.Google Scholar
Weissman, M. M., Klerman, G. L. Prusoff, B. A., Hanson, B. & Paykel, E. S. (1974) Treatment effects on the social adjustment of depressed patients. Arch. gen. Psychiat., 30, 771–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weissman, M. M. & Paykel, E. S. (1974) The Depressed Woman: A Study of Social Relationships. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
Winokur, G., Clayton, P. & Reich, T. (1969) Manic Depressive Illness. St. Louis: C. V. Mosby Co.Google Scholar
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.