Evaluating the efficacy of psychotherapy for depression: the USA experience.

New forms of psychotherapy have been developed in North America specifically focused on the treatment of depressed patients, usually "neurotic depressives" treated on an ambulatory basis. The widely studied treatments have been cognitive behavioral therapy and interpersonal therapy (IPT). The theoretical background and empirical basis of IPT is reviewed along with the available evidence for efficacy based on studies of acute treatment and maintenance treatment. The recently completed NIMH multi-center study provides evidence for the overall efficacy of treatment of outpatient depressives, whether by drugs or by brief psychotherapy. Future developments will likely increase the focus of psychotherapy for depression alone and in combination with medication.