The "Clinician's illusion" and the epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of depressive disorders.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Depression often occurs in association with stressful events. However, people with depressive disorders may experience episodes in response to minor stressors or "out of the blue." Similar episodes can occur in people who do not have a disorder in response to severe events. This plurality of symptom patterns, occurring as it does in the absence of precise demarcation from normality has led to controversy over how depressive disorders should be defined, how common they are, and when treatment should be offered. Much of the controversy, however, may be illusory, arising from a tendency to view depressive disorders as defects or disease processes (the "clincian's illusion"). Avoiding the illusion involves understanding depression as a defense rather than a defect and requires consi

SUBMITTER: Patten SB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6302305 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature