In 2010, APA adopted a process for producing clinical practice guidelines for clinicians. The goal of these guidelines is to provide research-based recommendations for the treatment of mental and behavioral health conditions. Each guideline is developed by an interdisciplinary panel of experts and is based on a rigorous review of the scientific literature for each topic.
The Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Depression Across Three Age Cohorts is the third clinical practice guideline developed by APA, following the Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, approved in 2017, and the Clinical Practice Guideline for the Behavioral Treatment of Obesity and Overweight in Children and Adolescents, approved in 2018. More guidelines are underway, and the published guidelines will be updated approximately every five years.
Research on mental health and behavioral treatments moves quickly, and the guidelines aim to provide a summary of the most recent literature on a topic, says Raquel Halfond, PhD, director of clinical practice guidelines at APA. “It can be hard for clinicians to take the time to pore over all of the literature,” she says—especially when the research is extensive, as in the case of depression.
Clinical practice guidelines are designed not to be the last word on treatment options, but rather to inform clinicians about best practices as they engage in shared decision-making to identify the right treatments for each patient, Halfond adds. “Clinicians can consider these guidelines together with their own expertise, keeping in mind a patient’s culture, preferences and values,” she says. “We hope this will be a useful tool for clinicians to have in their toolbox, to be used as part of an evidence-based practice in psychology.”
