COGNITIVE PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR DEPRESSION IN THE ADOLESCENT - A NEW THERAPEUTIC PERSPECTIVE

The nosological concept of depression in adolescents is still relative ly poorly understood. Clinical expression varies greatly although beha vioural disorders and suicidal acts are frequent signs. As an alternat ive to drug therapy, cognitive psychotherapy appears to be a promising approach offering a structured therapeutic tool applicable within a s hort period of time. We report the case of a 18-year-old girl who suff ered from chronic depression and had attempted suicide several times i n spite of previous hospitalization and psychoanalytic therapy. She wa s successfully treated with 16 sessions of cognitive psychotherapy con ducted according to the Beck method in combination with fluvoxamine wh ich had been insufficient given alone. The different phases of the the rapeutic approach are discussed during hospitalization then as an out patient. Cognitive psychotherapy is technically feasable treatment for depression in the adolescent and has been demonstrated to be effectiv e in our case.