Depression in Children and Teens - Other Treatment

Other Treatment

Professional counseling is an important part of treatment for depression. Lifestyle changes, such as getting regular exercise and enough sleep, may also help your child recover more quickly and improve his or her quality of life. Family therapy may be helpful for your entire family while you are dealing with depression in your child.

Having a child with depression can be challenging and requires understanding and patience. You should learn as much as you can about childhood depression and what you and other family members can do to help treat it. Family therapy can be an effective way to learn the best ways to help.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) may be an effective treatment for a teen or older child who is severely depressed or does not respond to other treatment, although this treatment is rarely used for children and teens. Even though it is an effective treatment for adults with major depression, there are currently no long-term studies on the safety of using ECT for children and teens or adults.^{11, 18}

Other Treatment Choices

Professional counseling is an important part of the treatment for depression. Types of counseling most often used to treat depression in children and teens are:

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy, which helps reduce negative patterns of thinking and encourages positive behaviors.
• Interpersonal therapy, which focuses on the child's relationships with others.
• Problem-solving therapy, which helps the child deal with current problems.
• Family therapy, which provides a place for the whole family to express fears and concerns and develop new ways of getting along.
• Play therapy, which is used with young children or children with developmental delays to help them cope with fears and anxieties.¹⁹ But there is no proof that this type of treatment reduces symptoms of depression.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), while seldom used on children, may be helpful for those who either have not responded to other treatments or whose depression is severe.

Complementary medications

Complementary medicines such as St. John's wort have been used to treat depression in adults, but their effectiveness in children and teens has not been adequately studied. There is no evidence that these therapies are safe for use by children or teens.²⁰ Complementary medicines can also interfere with other medicines, such as antidepressants.

What To Think About

Some symptoms of depression in children and teens may remain, even with medication and other treatment. Depression in young people can be an ongoing problem and may need long-term treatment with professional counseling, medicines, education about the disorder, or a combination of these. Early treatment of depression may bring about the best results for your child.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the vagus nerve stimulator (VNS) implant for treatment of depression in adults. This device may be used when other treatments for depression have not worked.

A generator the size of a pocket watch is placed in the chest. Wires go up the neck from the generator to the vagus nerve. The generator sends tiny electric shocks through the vagus nerve to that part of the brain that is believed to play a role in mood.

How well the VNS implant works for children has not been well studied, and the device is expensive.²¹