Management of depressive illness in a Nigerian neuro-psychiatric hospital

The management of 430 patients treated for depressive illness, at the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Aro, Abeokuta, Nigeria, has been reviewed. Psychotherapy particularly with tricyclic antidepressants and electroconvulsive therapy were the main methods of treatment, but neuroleptics and anxiolytics were frequently prescribed to combat psycho-neurotic symptoms. Psychological management amounted to rudimentary psychotherapy and individual counselling provided by doctors and nurses with no particular training in these areas. The need to improve on material and personnel resources at the hospital was emphasized.