Tay Gavin Erickson Lecture Series — The Center for Research on Families welcomes Steven Hollon, PhD, who will present "Is Cognitive Therapy Enduring or are Antidepressants Iatrogenic?"

Does the addition of antidepressant medications to cognitive therapy (CT) have an iatrogenic effect that interferes with CT's known enduring effect on depression? Might the combination possibly prolong the length of the underlying episode?  In his talk, Dr. Hollon will present his research findings, which raise concerns that cognitive therapy provided in combination with medication does little to prevent recurrence of depression.

Dr. Hollon's primary interest lies in the etiology and treatment of depression in adults. His work extends from basic psychopathology to prevention and treatment. He is particularly interested in the relative contribution of cognitive and biological processes to depression, and how the relative efficacies of psychosocial versus pharmacological interventions compare. A current interest is the prevention of depression, both with respect to its initial onset and subsequent recurrence following successful treatment.

This lecture is sponsored by the Center for Research on Families’ Tay Gavin Erickson Lecture Series. The Center for Research on Families (CRF) is an endowed interdisciplinary research center in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and College of Natural Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The Tay Gavin Erickson Lecture Series brings internationally recognized speakers with expertise in family research to campus each year. The lecture series began in 1999 through an endowment established in memory of Tay Gavin Erickson.