Psychotherapeutic Approaches to the Treatment of Anxiety and Depressive Disorders

Psychotherapy, both alone and in combination with pharmacotherapy, is one of the most prevalenttreatments for depression and anxiety. Research data are sparse, but there is ample evidence that severalpsychotherapies are effective for acute affective and panic disorders. The best data are for interpersonaland cognitive-behavioral therapies, with only early reports on the more common psychodynamicpsychotherapies. There has been less study of more chronic disorders, but once againthe suggestion is that appropriate psychotherapy is effective. Treatment should be active and focusedon the patient’s symptoms and current problems, not on character pathology or developmental psychodynamics.