The majority of depressed patients are not helped by antidepressants, according to Professor Irving Kirsch of Hull University. His team carried out an extensive analysis of clinical trial data submitted to obtain licensing for the most commonly prescribed antidepressants and found there were no clinically significant effects in mildly depressed or in most patients who suffer from very severe depression. Referring to one of the most thorough investigations into the efficacy of SSRIs, Kirsch said: ‘The difference in improvement between patients taking placebos and patients taking antidepressants is not very great. This means that depressed people can improve without chemical treatments. Given these results, there seems little reason to prescribe antidepressant medication to any but the most severely depressed patients, unless alternative treatments have failed to provide a benefit.’ 
University of Hull