Relative efficacy of psychotherapy and combined therapy in the treatment of depression: a meta-analysis.

Background: Reviews of the relative efficacy of psychotherapy and combined therapy (psychotherapy with pharmacotherapy) for depression have yielded contradicting conclusions. This may be explained by the clinical heterogeneity of the studies reviewed.

Aims: To conduct a meta-analysis with an acceptable level of homogeneity in order to investigate the relative efficacy of psychotherapy and combined therapy in the acute treatment of depression.