Helping Patients With Depression Achieve Wellness

Mark Hyman Rapaport, M.D.

In the past, response was considered to be the goal of depression treatment. However, studies demonstrated that achieving response was not sufficient for sustaining long-term recovery, so remission (or total elimination of symptoms) became the ultimate aim of treatment. Recently, research has indicated a need to elevate treatment goals from remission to the achieving of wellness—the full restoration of premorbid levels of functioning and quality of life. Strategies such as incorporating objective measures into clinical practice and collaborating with patients throughout therapy will increase the likelihood of attaining wellness.

(J Clin Psychiatry 2009;70[5]:e11. doi:10.4088/JCP.8001tx9c)

From the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles.