• Center on Health Equity & Access
  • Clinical
  • Health Care Cost
  • Health Care Delivery
  • Insurance
  • Policy
  • Technology
  • Value-Based Care

Dr Michael Thase Discusses Treating Major Depressive Disorder

Video

In the last 30 years, there have been easier to prescribe, safer antidepressants for major depressive disorder, as well as the introduction of easy-to-learn approaches to therapy, but 40% or so of people suffering from depression aren’t in treatment, explained Michael Thase, MD, professor of psychiatry and director of the Mood and Anxiety Program at the University of Pennsylvania.

Michael Thase, MD, professor of psychiatry and director of the Mood and Anxiety Program at the University of Pennsylvania, explains how major depressive disorder is typically treated, as well as the greatest challenges in treating the disorder.

TranscriptHow is major depressive disorder typically treated?

The largest public health advance in the care of depression in the last 30 years was the introduction of easier to prescribe, safer antidepressants that made it possible for many depressed patients to be treated in primary care. At the same time, relatively easy-to-learn approaches to therapy involving core interpersonal issues or cognitive behavioral strategies also became increasingly available.

Now, these treatments aren’t as widely and broadly available as pharmacotherapy, and, sometimes, they’re used in combination with pharmacotherapy. But, between the newer generation antidepressants and the focused psychotherapies, probably 6 or 7 out of 10 depressed people seeking care in the outpatient side of the world can get better within 3 or 4 months.

What are the greatest challenges in treating this disorder?

So, the number one challenge is that, at any moment in time, 40% or so of people suffering from depression aren’t in treatment whatsoever. So, ways of making the benefits of treatment more broadly known and more accessible to people is one challenge. Another challenge, of course, is for the people who seek treatment but for whom our standard treatments aren’t effective. And there’s a subset, maybe as large as 20% or 25% for whom our standards medications and standard therapies don’t work.

Related Videos
Kimberly Westrich, MA, chief strategy officer at the National Pharmaceutical Council
Sam Peasah, PhD, MBA, RPh, director for the Center of High-Value Health Care at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center
Jawad Haider Butt, MD, PhD
Laura Bobolts, PharmD, BCOP, senior vice president of clinical strategy and growth at OncoHealth
Barry Byrne, MD, PhD, Powell Gene Therapy Center at the University of Florida
JC Scott, CEO and president, PCMA
Caspian Oliai, MD, MS, a medical oncologist and hematologist and medical director of the UCLA Bone Marrow Transplantation Stem Cell Processing Center
Neha Kashalikar, PharmD, director of strategic pharmacy consulting, MassHealth
Adam Colburn, JD, vice president for congressional affairs, AMCP
Katrina Ortblad, ScD, MPH, Fred Hutch Cancer Center
Related Content
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences
AJMC®
All rights reserved.