Evidence-based guidelines
for treating depressive disorders
with antidepressants: A revision
of the 2000 British Association
for Psychopharmacology guidelines On Behalf of the Consensus Meeting; endorsed by the British Association for Psychopharmacology
Abstract
A revision of the 2000 British Association for Psychopharmacology evidencebased
guidelines for treating depressive disorders with antidepressants was
undertaken to incorporate new evidence and to update the recommendations
where appropriate. A consensus meeting involving experts in depressive
disorders and their management was held in May 2006. Key areas in treating
depression were reviewed, and the strength of evidence and clinical
implications were considered. The guidelines were drawn up after extensive
feedback from participants and interested parties. A literature review is
provided, which identifies the quality of evidence to inform the
recommendations, the strength of which are based on the level of evidence.
These guidelines cover the nature and detection of depressive disorders, acute
treatment with antidepressant drugs, choice of drug versus alternative
treatment, practical issues in prescribing and management, next-step
treatment, relapse prevention, treatment of relapse, and stopping treatment.
Key words
antidepressants; depressive disorder; evidence-based guidelines; treatment
Journal of Psychopharmacology
xxx(xx) (2008) 1–54
© 2008 British Association
for Psychopharmacology
ISSN 0269-8811
SAGE Publications Ltd,
Los Angeles, London,
New Delhi and Singapore
10.1177/0269881107088441 | 
