Ordinarily Well: The Case for Antidepressants

Arguing against the pervasive belief that studies show antidepressant drugs work no better than placebos, Kramer (psychiatry, Brown Univ. Medical Sch.; Listening to Prozac) argues that a critical look at the literature reveals that antidepressants are indeed effective at relieving the symptoms of depression. Kramer introduces readers to the randomized controlled trial—the "gold standard" research design for testing the effectiveness of a treatment—and explains how intricacies of its design and interpretation can mask the benefits of antidepressants. In two particularly interesting chapters, the author takes readers inside a clinical research center, illustrating how the manner in which participants are recruited and attended to over the course of a trial underestimates the actual power of antidepressants. Speaking as a practicing psychiatrist, Kramer further concludes that direct observations of antidepressant-treated patients by their physicians are just as valuable as randomized trials.