Help for Teens Dealing with Depression

Therapy for Teen and Adolescent Depression Helps Break Family Cycle

Jun 4, 2009

Teenagers with depressive tendencies or whose parents suffer from depression can learn to overcome these patterns with therapy and coping skills, a new study shows.

Depression is one of the most insidious mental health issues – and it occurs at frightening rates, especially among teenagers. National Institute of Health statistics show that one-in-twelve teens is affected by depression, and that teenage depression can hinder adult mental health.

New research on at-risk youth shows that teenage depression can be prevented and treated with early intervention to teach new thinking habits and coping skills.

Teenage Depression is Often Ignored

According to Time Magazine and the National Institute of Health, one-in-four teenagers will become depressed at some point before age 18. Many of these teens experience depression only fleetingly, but for others the problems lingers; 20% of teens with adolescent depression will continue to battle depression as adults.

Most parents of depressed teens tend to assume that their child is just moody, so most teenagers with depression aren't diagnosed until years later. But the best time to address teenage depression is as early as possible, before negative thinking habits become entrenched.

Study Finds Therapy Helps Teens Cope with Depression

A new study, published in the June 3, 2009, edition of the Journal of the American Medicine Association, attempted to find out whether early intervention could help prevent ongoing teenage depression.

The study, conducted on 316 teens between the ages of 13 and 17 in four different cities, looked at children who were deemed to be "at risk" for serious depression – those with symptoms that fell short of a clinical depression diagnosis and who had a family history of depression – at least one parent who had experienced a depressed episode in the past three months, or three major episodes during the teenager's life.

The teen subjects of the study were not taking antidepressant medication, and had been through less than eight cognitive behavioral therapy sessions before the start of the study.

All of the study's teens had access to the normal programs, help lines, and other services found in their communities – but in addition, half of the teenagers took part in a series of eight weekly 90-minute group therapy sessions, followed by monthly follow-up sessions for the next six months.

After the nine months of the study, only 21.4% of teens in the "cognitive behavioral prevention program" went on to have a depressive episode, while 32.7% of the control group of teens were depressed. For teens whose parents were not suffering from depression at the time, only 11.7% of those in the therapy program went on to experience depression.

Diagnosis and Early Intervention for Depressed Teens is Key

Although the study showed that therapy was very helpful for teens whose parents were not concurrently depressed, it was less conclusive about how helpful cognitive behavioral treatment can be for adolescents living in a household with a depressed parent.

Gregory Clarke, co-author of the teen depression study, concludes that "It's awfully hard to change your thinking habits if a parent is depressed and everything is so chaotic around you." Yet despite the lack of success with the most at-risk teens, the study's authors believe that prevention and support for depressed teens is very important.

Child psychologist Anne Marie Albano, at the Columbia University Medical Center, says, "If you get kids early in the cycle of depression when they have symptoms and are on the path, you can give them skills that manage those symptoms."

The copyright of the article Help for Teens Dealing with Depression in Depression is owned by Victoria Anisman-Reiner. Permission to republish Help for Teens Dealing with Depression in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.