In addition to the basic elements common to all forms of psychotherapy, cognitive therapy incorporates structure, agenda setting, frequent feedback and summarization, skill teaching, and homework assignments. More rational and adaptive ways of thinking are explored. Coping skills, such as problem solving steps and social skills, are learned and practiced. Communication skills, such as active listening and assertiveness, are the focus in the initial stages of systemic-behavioral family therapy. Problem solving strategies, dealing with the daily conflicts between the teenager and the parents, are improved.
Homework assignments reinforce the learned skills.
The acute phase of treatment for ambulatory patients usually requires between ten to twenty sessions over a period of three to four months. Even though research has not yet demonstrated the effectiveness of antidepressant medications in adolescent depression, physicians notice many teenagers who respond well to these medications. Therefore, these drugs cannot be the only treatment initiated in a suicidal individual. The relative safety from overdosage is an advantage when using these newer antidepressants to treat patients with suicidal ideation. Other medications routinely used in the treatment of adolescents are Depakote TM and Lithium TM for bipolar disorder, Ritalin TM and Dexedrine TM for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Haldol TM and Risperdal TM for psychotic conditions, and Prozac TM and Buspar TM for anxiety disorders.