The outcome of outpatient treatment of depressed patients

We examined the outcome of psychiatric outpatient care on the basis of evaluations by depressed patients (n = 45) and staff. Evaluations by the patients involved, among other things, the 13-item Beck Depression Inventory, a life satisfaction scale, and a scale assessing psychosomatic symptoms. Patients also assessed their subjective work capacities and attitudes to the future. Evaluations by treating physicians included, among other things, the Global Assessment Scale (GAS) and the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Therapists assessed the severity of the patients' symptoms. Supportive individual psychotherapy and family and conjoint marital therapies were used, if necessary. Almost all patients received psychopharmaceutical drugs. Treatment outcomes were assessed on the basis of treatment responses after 3 months of care. Compared with base line, the Beck score decreased in all patients by 29%, the BPRS by 52%, and psychosomatic symptoms by 21%. The GAS increased by 28%. Twenty-nine per cent of the patients were on sick leave or receiving a pension at the beginning of treatment, and 20% at the time of follow-up. Life satisfaction as assessed by patients increased with treatment, but half of the patients still felt uncertain about the future at the time of follow-up. The treatment used during the study proved effective. Changes in the severity of symptoms indicate better life control than at base line, and the patients' work capacities, assessed both subjectively and objectively, improved.