The Long-Term Outcome of Dysthymia in Private Practice

Abstract

These data extend and enrich what has been learned from controlled trials among dysthymic patients. With sustained pharmacotherapy and specialized clinical care in a private mood clinic, 3 of 4 patients immersed in gloom for much of their lives achieved for the first time good to superior levels of functioning that were maintained for an average of 5 years. Although the art of clinical management of dysthymia should be fully grounded in understanding the interpersonal context of depression, we submit that SSRIs such as fluoxetine appear broadly efficacious in areas previously deemed to be the domain of formal psychotherapy.