The American Psychiatric Association practice guidelines provide recommendations to help psychiatrists and other physicians make treatment decisions that are supported by the best available evidence. The Pocket Guideline for the Assessment and Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder provides the essential recommendations from APA's practice guideline on major depressive disorder as well as the DSM-IV-TR criteria for diagnosis of the disorder.

The Pocket Guideline for the Assessment and Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder is a quick, useful tool to remind psychiatrists, primary care physicians and other clinicians, medical students, and residents the essential recommendations for assessment and treatment of this devastating illness. This handy tool includes

• Important symptoms of major depressive disorder
  
• Diagnostic criteria for evaluation
  
• Psychotherapeutic and pharmacologic treatments that should be considered
  
• What to monitor during treatment
  
• How long to continue treatment and when to reassess adequacy of response
  
• Starting and usual dosages of antidepressant medications
  
• How to manage side effects
  
• What to consider when discontinuing treatment

Developed by the APA to assist in clinical decision making, The Pocket Guideline for the Assessment and Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder is a valuable clinical tool for the assessment and treatment of depression.