by Jessica
Depression will affect between 3-8 percent of the
population by mid-adolescence. Research supports CBT to be used with
significant success with mild to moderate depression. The National
Institute of Mental Health has found that when treating major depression in
adolescents with medication, CBT not only aids in a faster recovery, but also
provides additional safeguards for those vulnerable to suicide.
CBT gives the adolescent a way of better
understanding how their negative thoughts affect how they respond to different situations,
and in turn, how they feel. With the use of specific tools to change
negative thoughts, youth are able to work their way out of depression.
One of the goals of CBT is cognitive restructuring which asks the client to
identify his or her negative, unrealistic or unhelpful thoughts, evaluate
evidence for and against these, and generate a more positive, realistic or
helpful thought based on this evidence”
This video gives one example of a CBT tool that can
be used to aid in cognitive restructuring.
Cognitive Behavior
Therapy and Medication. (n.d.). Retrieved
July 15, 2012, from Worry Wise Kids:www.worrywisekids.org/treatments/med_thrpy.html
Friedburg, R. D.
(2009). Self-Instructional and Cognitive Restructuring Methods. In Cognitive
Behavioral Therapy Techniques for Children and Adolescents (pp.
121-128). New York: The Guilford Press .
Gledhill, J., &
Hodes, M. (2011). The Treatment of Adolescents with Depression. Current
Medical Literature - Psychiatry 22(1) , 1-7.
Labbe, C. (2007).
Depressed Adolescents Respond Best to Combination Treatment. Retrieved July 15,
2012, from National Institutie of Mental Health: www.nih.gov/news/pr/oct2007/nimh-01.htm
