Affiliate disclosure. DepressionResource.org is a publication of shrinkMD Publishing Inc. The editor is also the founder of shrinkMD, a telepsychiatry practice referenced on this site. Editorial independence is described on the Editorial Standards and About pages. The site receives no advertising, sponsorship, or affiliate revenue.
Educational use only. DepressionResource.org publishes general educational information about depression, mood, related conditions, and treatment. Content on this site is for educational purposes only. Content is not medical advice and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any condition.
No clinician-patient relationship. Reading this site, contacting the site by email, completing a form, or using any tool on the site does not create a clinician-patient relationship with the editor, with any contributor, with shrinkMD Publishing Inc., or with shrinkMD. No physician on this site, including Shariq Refai, MD, MBA, is your treating clinician unless you have separately established care.
No substitute for clinical judgment. Information on this site does not replace evaluation, diagnosis, treatment, monitoring, or clinical judgment by a licensed clinician who knows your full history. Always seek the advice of your physician, psychiatrist, or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have about a medical condition or treatment.
Do not change medications based on this site. Decisions about starting, stopping, increasing, decreasing, or substituting any medication should be made only with a licensed prescriber who knows your full history, your other medications, and your medical conditions. Stopping a psychiatric medication abruptly can cause withdrawal and worsening of symptoms. Discuss any changes with a prescriber.
Do not delay seeking care. Do not delay or avoid seeking medical care because of something you read on this site. If you may harm yourself or someone else, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. In the United States, call or text 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
No guaranteed outcomes. No statement on this site is a guarantee of any treatment outcome. Individual responses to treatment vary. The site describes general patterns and evidence; it does not predict what will happen in any individual case.
Third-party content. This site links to outside resources for the reader's convenience. The inclusion of a link is not an endorsement of any specific clinician, organization, product, or service. We are not responsible for the content, privacy practices, or accuracy of third-party sites.
Information accuracy. Clinical information changes over time. We update pages on a regular schedule. The last-reviewed date at the bottom of each page is the date of the last clinical review. We make reasonable efforts to keep information current and accurate, and we do not warrant that any specific page is free of error at the time you read it.
Jurisdiction. This site is published from the United States and is intended primarily for a U.S. audience. Clinical information and resources outside the U.S. may differ. Crisis resources listed on this site are U.S.-specific.
Use at your own discretion. By using this site, you agree that any reliance on information you read here is at your own discretion and at your own risk. To the maximum extent allowed by law, shrinkMD Publishing Inc., the editor, contributors, and reviewers are not liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, or special damages arising from the use of this site.
All site content is provided as is and without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and accuracy. See the Terms of Use for the full disclaimer of warranties and limitation of liability.
Pediatric carve-out
This site is intended for adult readers (18 and older). Information about children and adolescents, including any information about antidepressant medication, is general only. Antidepressants carry an FDA boxed warning for an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behaviors in patients under 25. Pediatric prescribing decisions must be made by a treating clinician who knows the child's full history. Caregivers should consult a pediatric clinician for any individual medical decision involving a person under 18.
Not for emergencies
This site is not designed for medical emergencies, urgent care, or crisis intervention. Do not use this site to seek immediate help. If you may be in danger, call or text 988, call 911, or go to the nearest emergency department.
Ownership. DepressionResource.org is a publication of shrinkMD Publishing Inc.
Contact. Questions about this disclaimer can be sent to support@depressionresource.org.
Please do not include medical history, symptoms, or other protected health information in email. Email is not a secure channel and is not monitored for clinical purposes.