Psychiatria pre prax 1/2003

DYSTHYMIA AND ITS THERAPY

The first research discussion of psychotherapy of dysthymic disorder dates back to 1984, when chronic depression had recently been reclassified as a mood disorder and researchers were exploring benefits of antidepressant medication for its treatment. The few psychotherapy studies of dysthymic disorder generally suffer from methodological weakness, small sample size, or both. Several cognitive-behavior therapy approaches have been tested for treating dysthymic patients. These approaches have different response rate (33–67% responders) after 2–3 months trials. Interpersonal psychotherapy, has demonstrated efficacy in three small pilot studies with dysthymic patients. IPT response was equivalent to medication.

Keywords: pharmacotherapy, psychotherapy, interpersonal therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy.