At the same time, psychotherapy, either on its own or in combination with medication, has become less prevalent, indicating a shift in US outpatient mental healthcare.

Some psychiatrists are concerned about the trend, because combination therapy is often the most successful for patients with depression, while others say that medication makes it easier for some people to get treatment. Some experts suspect that aggressive pharmaceutical company marketing of medications to both physicians and patients may also play a role in the shift toward treatment by medication only.