Treatment-resistant depression and the collaborative treatment relationship

Many depressed patients experience only limited improvement despite provision of appropriate therapies within a collaborative treatment arrangement (the integrated provision of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy). In the interest of enhancing these patients' partial responses, it is valuable to examine the treatments provided and also the collaborative framework in which they are offered. The authors use vignettes to illustrate how each of several factors-the adequacy of treatment with each modality, behavioral impediments to response, compliance with treatments, recognition and appropriate matching of treatments to relevant concurrent diagnoses, and appropriate communication between collaborating clinicians-may affect treatment outcome. Recommendations are offered for clinicians engaging in a collaborative relationship, including attending carefully to the patients' comments about a complementary modality of treatment and the clinician delivering it, communicating useful information to the collaborating therapist, and being receptive to information that is offered by the collaborating therapist.