Depressive disorders in childhood and adolescence. Evidence and consensus-based diagnostics and treatment
- Unipolar depressive disorders in adolescence are common, lead to serious impairments and are often associated with comorbid disorders and a high risk for suicide. Thus, recognition and early treatment of depressive disorders are important. International and national treatment guidelines show that effective treatment approaches for prevention and acute therapy of depressive disorders are available. Based on current evidence and consensus-based guidelines, such as the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF) S3 treatment guidelines for unipolar depressive disorders in children and adolescents, state of the art diagnostic procedures and treatment recommendations are proposed. Diagnostic procedures and differential diagnoses as well as differential indications and treatment planning are reported in detail. In the treatment section the focus is on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which is currently the best evaluated psychological treatment form for depressive disorders in children and adolescents.
