The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) issued new guidelines for the identification, treatment, and management of depression.

According to the medical watchdog, doctors should stop routinely issueing antidepressants to people struggling with mental health, and instead should offer therapy sessions as the first option.

This is the first time in 12-years that the watchdog recommended non-drug-related treatments as a first option for people suffering from less severe depression.

According to the Office of National Statistics, some 17% of the British population over the age of 16 suffered from some form of depression in summer 2021.

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