Depressed mood is a common symptom but it can have multiple causes.

It is important to perform a sophisticated assessment to determine the cause of the symptoms of depression, in order that appropriate evidence-based treatments can be provided. Major Depressive Disorder, Adjustment Disorder, Persistent Depressive Disorder and others, all have depressed mood as a cardinal symptom. However, the therapeutic approach is determined by the condition that the person is suffering from, and also takes into consideration predisposing, precipitating and exacerbating factors. If you treat all patients with depressed mood the same, the treatment will regularly be sub-optimal and in some cases, a complete failure. It is important to have a sophisticated assessment in order to work out what is actually going on, rather than just having an antidepressant prescribed. Only then can evidenced-based treatments be targeted to the specific condition, experienced in this particular person.