A new study of clinically depressed teens found that while many respond well in the beginning to drug treatments alone, they might need cognitive-behavioral therapy later to sustain their improvements and prevent recurrences.

Dr. Paul Rohde of the Oregon Research Institute studied 242 teens that had been treated for depression. One group had drugs alone, the second group had cognitive therapy alone, and the third group had a combination of the two.

After three months, the combination group had the best result, with a 71% response, compared to 68% of the drug-alone group and 42% of the therapy group. However, six months later, 97% of the teens in the therapy-alone group were maintaining their improvements, compared to 89% in the combination group and 74% of those who only took drugs.

Dr. Rohde and others believe that teens may respond to drugs initially and then hit a plateau, so that after a while, they benefit from psychotherapy.

This study was published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Labels: depression, therapy, treatment_programs