Treatment of Depression in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review

Target audience and instructional level of this course: foundational

There is no known conflict of interest or commercial support related to this CE program.

TRAINING

Depressive disorders can affect long-term mental and physical health functioning among children and adolescents, including increased risk of suicide. Despite access to several nonpharmacological, pharmacological, and combined treatment options for childhood depression, clinicians contend with sparse evidence and are concerned about harms associated with treatment.
This course summarizes the results of a systematic review to evaluate the efficacy, comparative effectiveness, and moderators of benefits and harms of available nonpharmacological and pharmacological treatments for children and adolescents with a confirmed diagnosis of a depressive disorder (DD)—major depressive disorder (MDD), persistent depressive disorder (previously termed dysthymia) or DD not otherwise specified.

Learning Objectives

After completing this training the professional will be able to:

1. describe the empirical evidence reviewed in the course article.
2. outline the findings in the course article in relationship to what is already know about the benefits of various nonpharmacological, pharmacological and combination treatments for children and adolescents with Depressive Disorders.
3. compile a list of future research needs related to the treatment of depression in children and adolescents.

Prepared by the following investigators at RTI International–University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Evidence-based Practice Center, Research Triangle Park, NC:

Meera Viswanathan, Ph.D.
Sara M. Kennedy, M.P.H.
Joni McKeeman, Ph.D.
Robert Christian, M.D.
Manny Coker-Schwimmer, M.P.H.
Jennifer Cook Middleton, Ph.D.
Carla Bann, Ph.D.
Linda Lux, M.P.A.
Charli Randolph, B.A.
Valerie Forman-Hoffman, Ph.D., M.P.H.

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