This is an important article following up on the many studies of serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) from the 1990s. It turns out, as usual, that the drug companies were quick to publish studies favorable to their products, and slower to publish studies unfavorable to their products. See the excellent article by Peter Norvig, director of research at Google, on how to interpret scientific research,

http://norvig.com/experiment-design.html

for more on this problem of publication bias.

There is a good body of research now suggesting that most patients with depressed mood and related symptoms can be helped by cognitive therapy.

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20060101/83.html

http://www.apa.org/divisions/div12/rev_est/cog_depr.html

For many persons suffering from depression to the degree that it interferes with work or with family relationships, the best approach will be to combine medical treatment, possibly with the new first-line drugs (SSRIs) or possibly with other drugs, and cognitive therapy to learn new patterns of thinking.