SSRIs, or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, are a hot topic in psychology. They're like bouncers at the club of your brain, controlling serotonin (a mood-regulating hormone) access to the neural dance floor. But how effective are they? Well, my friend, it's a bit of a dance itself. Factors like the outcome desired (short-term or long-term relief), patient's age, and severity of disorder all come into play.

Remember the TADS (Treatment of adolescents with depression study)? Sponsored by the star-studded National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), this study was like the Super Bowl of depression treatment research, costing a whopping $17 million.

The study involved 439 participants diagnosed with major depression from all across the USA and was conducted in three parts:

• Acute Treatment: For the first 12 weeks, participants were split into four groups: (a) Fluoxetine alone, (b) placebo + clinical management, (c) cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) alone, (d) combination of Fluoxetine and CBT. Participants who didn't improve were allowed to choose other treatments.
• Consolidation Treatment: Those in the active treatment groups (Fluoxetine, CBT, and combination) carried on with their treatment for six more weeks.
• Continuation Treatment: Patients who showed improvement were watched for another 18 weeks.