[Recovering from depression: a matter of objective and determination]

Depression is a major public health problem. According to the World Health Organization (OMS), depression is currently the second cause of disability in developping countries. Depression is also one of the most frequent mental illnesses. In the treatment of depression, the main objective is to achieve complete remission and to prevent recurrence. Unfortunately, in clinical practice, this aim is particularly difficult to reach. Indeed, in clinical trials and in naturalistic studies, remission levels are rather low. Fortunately, different therapeutic strategies are available that increase chances to achieve remission. Therapeutic options such as switching, augmentation and combination are very effective. Some strategies are considered as more effective than others, but the choice is generally based on the experience of the clinician. Indeed, scientific data remain limited in the field of treatment resistant depression. Besides pharmacology, psychotherapy and cerebral stimulation techniques could be interesting alternatives.