Teens and Depression: Which Therapy Works

Published May 22, 2010

If you are a teen that struggles with depression or a parent of one that does, it can be hard to know what the best treatment is. Some doctors would be quick to put depressed teens on medication after just one or two counseling sessions while some counselors might use therapy alone to treat the depression.

If the teen is involved in some type of church, leaders could advise more prayer to solve the problem. Despite all this confusion, there is new research that sheds some light on which treatment is most effective in helping depressed teens. During this study funded by TADS, some teens were put on Prozac alone, others given CBT therapy alone, and others a combination of the two.

At the end of the 36 week study the group that received the combination of Prozac and counseling showed the best results with 82 percent showing improvement and of those 59 percent were in full remission. So what can we conclude from this study? It looks like the best treatment for teen depression is a combination of Prozac and long term therapy.

So if you are a teen or a parent of a teen that is depressed don’t just settle for drug treatment alone, but engage in some long term therapy as well. If you have been in counseling and aren’t happy with the results then perhaps you should consider adding a antidepressant to your treatment. I would lean on the side of using medication as a last resort, but I do think that at times it is necessary especially if it means that teens can live free from depressive cycles and lead functional lives.

A Biology teacher of 11 years, a certified counselor and a web educator/editor.

Teens and Depression: Which Therapy Works

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