I agree, the source is poor. But I thought the summary was better than the one offered here:
https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/star-d-dethroned
Bruce E. Levine is just some guy. Not great. But the sources he cites made the case for me:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37491091/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25886544/
I myself am and have been on psychotropics for years, don’t know what I would do without them. Further, as noted, the the STAR*D approach drops from 67% to 35%, which means they do work for some. But reporting that high a rate when the numbers don’t support it is information patients need. The original study seems very problematic with patients that dropped out assigned success rates, and the lack of a control group. I think the information is relevant.
The other sources are
https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/star-d-dethroned
Which cites the BMJ
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25886544/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37491091/
I thought this article explained the science better than the Psychiatric Times, so I used it. Lesson learned.