Introduction: New Strategies for Improving the Treatment of Depression

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Several types of depression may be encountered by a clinician. The depression may be a primary uncomplicated disorder, a single episode, recurrent, chronic, or dysthymic. Similarly, depressions can be comorbid with other disorders, either occurring after the onset of an established psychiatric disorder, such as panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, or substance abuse, or complicated by psychiatric or even medical conditions. Thus, the choice of treatment available for a clinician is largely predicated on the simplicity or complexity of the presenting depression and the prior treatment history of the patient. Input from patients regarding their wishes for certain treatments should be discussed.