A talking cure for depression called cognitive behavior therapy appears to cancel the risk of suicidal thinking or behavior associated with taking antidepressant medication, according to the most comprehensive and long-running study to date of depression treatment among adolescents. The study, which followed for a year more than 600 adolescents being treated for chronic depression, found that four in five recovered entirely, or nearly so, when treated over nine months with medication, talk therapy or a combination of the two. In this study, antidepressants lowered the risk of suicidal thoughts and actions over all, but significantly less so than talk therapy. “What this study shows, convincingly and for the first time, is that there are very good options for a child who is thought to be at risk for suicidal thinking,” said Kevin Stark, a psychologist at the University of Texas, who was not involved with the research. “Psychosocial therapies do work on their own, with time. But they also help prevent relapse, and this shows that they can help make drug treatment safer.”
The New York Times
Talk Therapy Pivotal for Depressed Youth
(Oct. 2)
