STOP Depression: Stepped care treatments and digital solutions for depression and suicide prevention in primary care is a pilot study, financed by the Finantial Mechanism EEA Grants, which intends to improve a better diagnosis and treatment of depression and suicide risk through the implementation of a Matched Stepped Care model.

Using this method will allow pairing the care provided and the clinical needs of the users, specifically, people with mild depression will be able to integrate group interventions, online self-help interventions or book self-help interventions; while people with persistent depressive symptoms or more severe depression will be conducted to psychotherapy interventions, pharmacotherapy, or the combination of both.

To have access to STOP Depression it is necessary for the person to be included in the project coverage area, i.e. the user needs to be a patient of family doctors, psychologists or nurses in Western Porto health care units that integrate the project.

Maiêutica is the promoter institution through the Psychotherapy Research Laboratory of ISMAI (University Institute of Maia – ISMAI) and also comprises a consortium composed by the ARS Norte (Portugal), INESC TEC (Portugal), SKA-Brand Development (Portugal) and Arkimedes (Norway). Its implementation by the Health Centers Group (ACeS) of Western Porto includes the collaboration of a multidisciplinary team of health units involved (comprised of doctors, nurses, social services professionals and psychologists) who will provide support with the diagnosis and treatment of depression, as well as the detection of suicide risk.


The STOP Depression intends to improve a better diagnosis and treatment

of depression and suicide risk through the implementation of

a Matched Stepped Care model


Matched Stepped Care Model

The Stop Depression Matched Stepped Care is inspired by the British model, which is widely studied and empirically supported. Matched Stepped Care models have received larger attention and support in several countries by the easy accessibility to users and also for its effectiveness and cost savings in individual intervention in depression and/or suicide risk. The Matched Stepped Care model seems to be one of the best responses in terms of cost and clinical-effectiveness in health care, especially for those with limited resources.

In this sense, STOP Depression aims to: increase the effectiveness in diagnosis and treatment of depression; decrease costs related to depression treatment; increase the ability of response to each health care unit in depression situations; improve response capacity and coordination between health care units and specialized services in severe depression cases and/or suicide risk; and obtain a rigorous scientific assessment of the implementation of the Matched Stepped Care model in primary health care.