Treating Depression

Treating Depression in Teens

Treatment of depression depends on how severe your child's symptoms are and whether the symptoms are interfering with his or her daily activities and quality of life. Treatment includes professional counseling and may include long-term treatment with medications.

Some children and teens do not respond to the first medication given and may need to try several different medications to find relief from their symptoms. Both medications and professional counseling may be the most effective treatment, especially for children with long-term (chronic) depression that has lasted over a year.6

An important part of ongoing treatment is making sure your child takes medications as prescribed. Often people who feel better after taking an antidepressant for a period of time may feel like they are "cured" and no longer need treatment. However, when medication is stopped, symptoms usually return, so it is important that your child follows the treatment plan.

Your child will also need to keep counseling appointments and continue with lifestyle changes, such as eating healthy foods and getting regular exercise. If your child has an additional illness along with depression, he or she will need to continue receiving treatment for the other illness. Tell all health professionals what medications your child is taking and the treatment he or she is receiving.

If your child's condition gets worse during treatment for depression (which includes counseling, medications, and lifestyle changes), additional treatment may be needed. Steps include:

Making sure your child is taking medications as prescribed and is following other treatment recommendations, such as going to counseling appointments.
Finding out whether ongoing symptoms are caused by another disorder (such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety disorder or substance abuse) and treating the other condition if needed.
Identifying and reducing stresses that may be making symptoms worse.
Changing the dose or type of medication your child is taking.
Making sure your child continues with home treatments, such as eating a balanced diet and getting regular exercise.

A brief hospital stay may be needed, especially if your child is showing any warning signs of suicide (such as aggressive or hostile behavior, excessive thoughts about death, or detachment from reality) or is so depressed that he or she becomes out of touch with reality (psychotic) or has hallucinations or delusions. The warning signs of suicide change with age. Warning signs of suicide in children and teens may include preoccupation with death or suicide or a recent breakup of a relationship.

If your child is depressed, consider removing all guns and potentially fatal medications from your home, especially if your child has shown any warning signs of suicide. Although overdosing on medication is the most common way adolescents attempt suicide, your child is at higher risk for completing a suicide if you have a gun in your home, particularly if it is easily accessible or you store it loaded.

You may also want to consider having your child agree to a safety plan in case of suicidal feelings, which is called a verbal or written no-suicide contract. The child agrees not to try to inflict self-harm and to tell an adult if he or she is feeling suicidal. Evidence about whether no-suicide contracts are effective in preventing suicidal behavior or completed suicide is still being evaluated. It isn't yet clear whether these agreements help or how much, but many health professionals feel that they may be useful. Here is an example of a No Suicide Contract that you can use with your teen, if you feel his depression has made him suicidal.

To Return to Teen Depression, Click here

ABOUT US - PRIVACY POLICY - DISCLAIMER - CONTACT US