Misconceptions about child and adolescent depression and its treatment

Abstract

This paper analyzes the veracity of five very widespread ideas about the nature and treatment of child and adolescent depression that makes it difficult for children and adolescents to receive adequate treatment and that promote pharmacotherapy to the detriment of psychotherapy. These ideas are contrasted with the results of the more recent meta-analyses and studies located in PsycINFO and MEDLINE. These results indicate that, contrary to those ideas: 1) psychotherapy cures child and adolescent depression; 2) psychotherapy, especially cognitive behavioral therapy for children and adolescents and interpersonal therapy for adolescents, is the first-line treatment over antidepressant medication for both mild and moderate-to-severe depression; 3) psychotherapy for child and adolescent depression is usually a short-term treatment; 4) child and adolescent depression is understood as a mental disorder, not as a mental illness; and 5) it has not been empirically proven that the main cause of child and adolescent depression is biological, instead this is only one more hypothesis.