Treatment for Adolescent Depression

Depression is a serious problem that can affect many areas of a teenager's life including schoolwork and relationships with peers and family members. Two types of interventions have been found to be effective in caring for depression in teens. Certain medications called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and a type of talking interventions, called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), have been proven to be effective. However, similar to adults, 40% of adolescents with depression do not respond to the first line of treatment.

Treatment Resistant Depression in Adolescents

The type of depression that does not respond to an initial treatment is considered "treatment resistant depression". Risk factors for treatment resistant depression are comorbidity (e.g. having depression along with another mental health disorder), chronic depression (e.g. depression for a long time), double depression (e.g. having Major Depressive Disorder and Dysthymic Disorder), family conflict, and parental depression.

Interventions for Treatment Resistant Depression in Adolescents

Mental health professionals have a number of intervention options for adolescent treatment resistant depression. Some of the most common include switching to another SSRI antidepressant medication, switching to another type of antidepressant medication different from SSRIs (such as Effexor XR) or choosing one of these options and also providing talk therapy. Right now it is unclear what combination of treatments are most helpful and no research studies, until the TORDIA Study, have been conducted to tell mental health professionals which option has the best chance of working.

The TORDIA Study

The Treatment Of Resistant Depression In Adolescents (TORDIA) Study is a nation-wide research study sponsored by the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH). It is a clinical research trial designed to examine different methods of caring for adolescents with treatment-resistant depression with the hope of learning which method works best. For more information about TORDIA, please review the remainder of this website.

Information About Depression

The following links provide more information about depression:

• National Institute of Mental Health
  http://www.nimh.nih.gov/healthinformation/depressionmenu.cfm
   

• National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association
  http://www.ndmda.org
   

• The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
  http://www.aacap.org/publications/specials/natnldep.htm
   

• National Mental Health Association - Depression Screening.org
  http://www.depression-screening.org/
   

• National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
  http://www.nami.org/illness/index.html#3
   

• American Psychological Association
  http://www.apa.org/topics/topic_depress.html
   

• Center to Improve Treatments in Youth (CITY)
  http://www.wpic.pitt.edu/research/city/

Home | Study Overview | Depression In Adolescents | Contact Us | FAQ 

This is an Emergency