I was horrified to see your headline last week 'Anti-depressants drove Clancy to kill, says leading psychiatrist' (News, 30 August). If everyone was to believe Dr Michael Corry, there would be no use of anti-depressants at all. This is misinformation and ignorance on the part of Dr Corry.

Granted, many depressions are 'reactive' and as Dr Patricia Casey suggests, can be treated without anti-depressants, usually by counselling or cognitive therapy. But there is room for using anti-depressants for biological endogenous (coming from within) depression such as I have had during my life.

I would like to say to Dr Corry that without anti-depressants I would not have been able to have three of my four children. Moreover, when I tried to have a pregnancy without anti-depressants I miscarried because of the severity of the depression. I went on to have three further pregnancies very successfully with the anti-depressant Anafranil. My first Anafranil baby has just achieved an 'A' in English in her Leaving Cert and is going on to study English at third-level. Is that not a drug success story?

This misinformation which Dr Michael Corry is spreading is damaging to our society. We are trying to get rid of the stigma of mental illness. This type of headline is doing exactly the opposite.

With Aware's 'Daisy Days' coming up in September, this headline is a disgrace.

Martina Kealy,

Trinity College Dublin.