Samenvatting van de NHG-Standaard ‘Depressie’

Conflict of interest: M. van Avendonk received remuneration from Sanofi-Aventis for attending a conference and for printing her thesis and has received royalties for the book ‘Leven met Diabetes’ (Living with Diabetes). Financial support for this article: none declared.

• This guideline gives recommendations for the management of depression and depressive symptoms.

• The diagnosis of suspected depression requires a broad exploration of symptoms, sometimes over several visits.

• The guideline promotes self-management and patient empowerment during the healing process.

• The initial step in the treatment of depressive symptoms is patient education; patients with depression are supported with activity scheduling and are offered a short course of psychological treatment.

• If the initial treatment in patients with depression is not effective or if the depression is associated with severe suffering, severe social dysfunctioning or severe psychiatric comorbidity, psychotherapy or an antidepressant is recommended.