Combining Therapy & Medication

An important psychiatric study of adults that highlights the importance of combining therapy with medication is the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) Treatment of Depression Collaborative Research Program (TDCRP). This landmark study compared the effectiveness of cognitive- behavioral therapy (CBT), interpersonal therapy (IPT), and the antidepressant medication, both alone and in combination, for the treatment of major depression. The findings revealed that combining medication with psychotherapy resulted in the most significant improvements in depressive symptoms, demonstrating the enhanced efficacy of integrated treatment approaches over monotherapy.