Adolescents & Depression

“Evidence-based practice” is the trend in the treatment of mental illnesses. Insurance companies and government are requiring that mental health providers implement research-proven clinical practice models in order to increase effective treatment outcomes.

In the case of treating adolescent depression, the National Institute for Mental Health has recently conducted research in this area and provided findings that validate the concurrent use of both psychotropic medication and psychotherapy treatment as “best practice” for intervening with these afflicted teens.

Most significant is the 71% effectiveness outcome for those teens receiving the combination of Prozac (which is the only FDA approved antidepressant for use in children) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

This outcome compares to test subjects receiving Prozac only(60.6%)

Subjects receiving CBT only (43.2%)

Control group of teens receiving placebo only treatment (34%)

These research findings seem convincingly clear that the evidence-based practice for this clinical group consists of prescribing Prozac and implementing CBT treatments. For more research details, visit Depression & Teens

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