Understanding Recovery as a Mechanism for Individualized Treatment Selection in Major Depressive Disorder: A case study

Depression is a mental disorder, characterized by symptoms of sadness, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, feelings of tiredness, and poor concentration. The World Health Organization (WHO) reports "Depression affects more than 350 million people of all ages, in all communities, and is a significant contributor to the global burden of disease." The US government reports that Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for ages 15-44. This talk will present a model of depression recovery used to characterize individual patient response to treatment. The model provides an explanation that on the surface seems like a paradox, namely, how an antidepressant treatment could result in suicide. The talk will be placed in the context of the past twenty years and highlight key events that are leading to radically different world of medical practice. I'll briefly mention some current controversies in the treatment of Depression and introduce the emerging field of Health Web Science.