[Maintenance treatment and relapse prophylaxis of depressive disorders]

After the remission of a depressive episode, the antidepressant should be continued at the same dose level for at least six months to prevent a relapse. Following severe, therapy-refractive depression, or if the course of the disease reveals an increased tendency to relapse, a phase-prophylactic long-term treatment is recommended. In the treatment of unipolar depressive disorders, lithium and antidepressant agents applied at the dosage effective for acute treatment are equally effective. The more severe the successfully treated depression, or the greater the risk of a relapse, the longer the prophylactic treatment should be. Current data show that interpersonal psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy are also of value in preventing a relapse. An independent suicide-preventing effect is to be seen with lithium, and presumably also with clozapine.