Depressed Adolescents Are Being Treated With More Prescription Drugs & Less Psychotherapy

OPEN MINDS, The Behavioral Health & Social Service Industry Analyst

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The use of medication to treat depression in adolescents rose from 47% to 52% between 1995 and 2002. During the same time period, the use of psychotherapy treatments dropped from 83% to 68%. Despite clinical guidelines calling for the combined treatment of medication and psychotherapy for depressed adolescents, antidepressants were being prescribed more often than not.

Researchers from the Stanford School of Medicine studied the national trends for treatment of adolescent depression and found an increase in . . .