Continuation Treatment of Chronic Depression: A Comparison of Nefazodone, Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy, and Their Combination

Little is known about the relative benefits of psychotherapy, medication, and combined treatment as continuation therapies for chronic forms of major depressive disorder (MDD) after a positive response to acute treatment. We hypothesize that combined treatment would demonstrate superior continuation phase outcomes compared to either monotherapy, as evidenced by lower relapse rates and greater rates of improvement from partial to full remission. We report 16-week continuation phase outcomes for 324 patients who had participated in either the acute phase of a randomized multicenter trial of nefazodone, Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP), or combination therapy (COMB) for chronic forms…