Here is a letter from Peter Gotzsche, M.D., one of the co-founders of the Cochrane Collaboration dated September 2014 explaining that it is even questionable whether antidepressants work for even severe depression:

The Truth About Antidepressant Research: An Invitation to Dialogue - Mad In America

One of the things that has been uncovered in 2005 is publication bias. Drug companies were doing clinical trials, but just not publishing trials that showed the drugs having no positive effect better than placebo. Here's a popular explanation of what was going on:

Ben Goldacre: What doctors don't know about the drugs they prescribe | TED Talk | TED.com

A very nice history of this whole thing can be found here



including the essential point that patients who take antidepressants for long periods of time do worse than unmedicated patients.

Here is a summary of a paper explaining what your doctor should be telling you about antidepressants:

Negative Effects of Antidepressants | Mad in America

- vital