Dysthymia: a randomized study of cognitive marital therapy and antidepressants

Preliminary data from a randomized study of the effectiveness of combined marital therapy and antidepressant medication in the treatment of dysthymic married women is presented. The study compares doxepin with placebo, and a marital therapy designed to enhance intimacy through facilitating self-disclosure between spouses with a more supportive and educational therapeutic approach. After ten weeks of combined treatment, the dysthymic women show statistically significant improvement on all the depression measures as well as on the intimacy scale. A trend is developing for greater reduction of depressive symptomatology in the group treated with self-disclosure. The evidence appears to suggest the possibility that the presence of a patient's husband as a supportive figure may of itself be a potent therapeutic manoeuvre in the treatment of dysthymic women.