Physical Activity as Depression Treatment

Abstract

Treatment for depression in youth and adolescence generally include various forms of psychotherapy and pharmacological therapies. Specifically, research has shown that cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and some of the newer antidepressant medications may be beneficial in treating childhood and adolescent depression and that, for some, the combination of the two is the best approach. However, these therapies are not without criticism. For some, they are ineffective or are associated with unpleasant side effects such as nausea, loss of appetite, headaches, sleep disturbances, and sexual dysfunction. There also remains concern about the potential for an increased risk of suicidal ideation in young people taking some types of antidepressant medications. As a result, researchers and clinicians continue to investigate alternative, efficacious treatment strategies that can be used alone or in combination with traditional therapies to treat depression. Exercise represents one such alternative strategy, and while most of the research examining the use of exercise to alleviate symptoms of clinical depression has been conducted with adult samples, there remains reason to be optimistic about its potential use in the treatment of youth and adolescent depression. This chapter discusses physical activity as a depression intervention component, potential mechanisms underlying the exercise and depression relationship, and reviews evidence-based interventions incorporating exercise into the treatment of clinical depression. Most of this work has been done with adults, our discussion focuses on findings in adult samples and how they may generalize to younger individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)