Treatment may include a combination of individual therapy, family therapy or a parent support group, and medication. Although half of the youth in his practice are on medication, he feels that medication treatment alone is never an appropriate course of treatment for children. Medication A recent study of 96 children performed in Texas, half receiving Prozac and half placebo, found that 56 percent of those on the medication reported improvement compared to 33 percent of those in the control group. However, studies have yet to examine more extended use of medication or the benefit of adjunct therapy. Well-done research studies have not clearly demonstrated older, tricyclic antidepressants to be effective in youth.
Family practitioners are now more willing to use SSRIs.
However, at this time, not all drugs in this class are officially FDA-approved for use in kids. Over a period of months, mental health practitioners can often eliminate depressive symptomology. The Texas study found 33 percent of the children involved were free of depression after just two months of treatment. Thus, frequent monitoring and ongoing treatment is often needed. Prevention Early identification and appropriate treatment are the keys to prevention of depressive episodes.