Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T12:48:13.618Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Chapter 8 - A Family-Based Approach to the Treatment of Youth Depression

from Part III - Family Intervention for Specific Child and Adolescent Mental Health Problems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2021

Jennifer L. Allen
Affiliation:
University of Bath
David J. Hawes
Affiliation:
University of Sydney
Cecilia A. Essau
Affiliation:
Roehampton University, London
Get access

Summary

Treatment of depression during childhood and early adolescence frequently involves numerous challenges, including co-morbidity, stress and mental health problems within the family. Given the embeddedness of youth within family structures during this developmental period, a family-based model may be particularly advantageous. Family-focused treatment for childhood depression (FFT-CD) is a developmentally-informed intervention that specifically targets family interactions to build strengths and resiliency within the family system to better manage and combat depression. By incorporating an interpersonal model, family members are assisted in identifying both ‘upward’ (helpful and positive) and ‘downward’ (unhelpful and negative) interactional spirals. This model provides a powerful and positive rationale for family inclusion in treatment and specifies the goals of the intervention. In further family sessions, psycho-education, communication enhancement, behavioral activation and problem-solving skills development are then used to build on existing strengths and disrupt negative transactions. In this chapter we describe the conceptual roots and intervention strategies of FFT-CD, illustrate its implementation using case descriptions and discuss core clinician competencies and approaches to common challenges in its implementation (e.g., co-morbidity, sibling inclusion, family stress). FFT-CD provides a flexible and efficacious intervention for depressive symptoms and disorders during a crucial period of development.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Tompson, MC, Sugar, CA, Langer, DA, Asarnow, JR. A randomized clinical trial comparing family-focused treatment and individual supportive therapy for depression in childhood and early adolescence. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2017; 56(6):515–23.Google Scholar
Birmaher, B, Williamson, DE, Dahl, RE, et al. Clinical presentation and course of depression in youth: Does onset in childhood differ from onset in adolescence? Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2004; 43(1):6370.Google Scholar
Kovacs, M. Presentation and course of major depressive disorder during childhood and later years of the life span. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 1996; 35(6):705–15.Google ScholarPubMed
Kovacs, M, Obrosky, S, George, C. The course of major depressive disorder from childhood to young adulthood: Recovery and recurrence in a longitudinal observational study. Journal of Affective Disorders 2016; 203:374–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lynch, FL, Clarke, GN. Estimating the economic burden of depression in children and adolescents. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 2006; 31(6):143–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rudolph, KD, Hammen, C, Burge, D, et al. Toward an interpersonal life-stress model of depression: The developmental context of stress generation. Development and Psychopathology 2000; 12(2):215–34.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hankin, BL, Abela, JR, eds. Development of Psychopathology: A Vulnerability-Stress Perspective. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publishing, 2005.Google Scholar
Hammen, C, Shih, J. Depression and interpersonal processes. In: Gotlib, IH, Hammen, CL (eds.), Handbook of Depression, vol. 3. New York: Guilford Press, 2014, pp. 277–95.Google Scholar
Rudolph, KD, Flynn, M, Abaied, JL. A developmental perspective on interpersonal theories of youth depression. In: Abela, JRZ, Hankin, BL (eds.), Handbook of Depression in Children and Adolescents. New York: Guilford Press, 2008, pp. 79102.Google Scholar
Tompson, MC, Boger, KD, Asarnow, JR. Enhancing the developmental appropriateness of treatment for depression in youth: Integrating the family in treatment. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America 2012; 21(2):345–84.Google Scholar
Ladd, GW. Peer relationships and social competence during early and middle childhood. Annual Review of Psychology 1999; 50(1):333–59.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Steinberg, L. We know some things: Parent–adolescent relationships in retrospect and prospect. Journal of Research on Adolescence 2001; 11(1):19.Google Scholar
Beardslee, WR, Gladstone, TR, O’Connor, EE. Developmental risk of depression: Experience matters. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics 2012; 21(2):261–78.Google Scholar
Tompson, MC, Asarnow, JR, Mintz, J, Cantwell, DP. Parental depression risk: Comparing youth with depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and community controls. Journal of Psychology and Psychotherapy 2015; 5(4):1.Google Scholar
Hammen, C, Burge, D, Adrian, C. Timing of mother and child depression in a longitudinal study of children at risk. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 1991; 59(2):341–5.Google Scholar
Chan, PT, Doan, SN, Tompson, MC. Stress generation in a developmental context: The role of youth depressive symptoms, maternal depression, the parent–child relationship, and family stress. Journal of Family Psychology 2014; 28(1):3241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tompson, MC, Langer, DA, Hughes, JL, Asarnow, JR. Family-focused treatment for childhood depression: Model and case illustrations. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice 2017; 24(3):269–87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rotheram-Borus, MJ, Goldstein, AM, Elkavich, AS. Treatment of suicidality: A family intervention for adolescent suicide attempters. In: Hofmann, SG, Tompson, MC (eds.), Treating Chronic and Severe Mental Disorders: A Handbook of Empirically Supported Interventions. New York: Guilford Press, 2002, pp. 191212.Google Scholar
Asarnow, JR, Hughes, JL, Babeva, KN, Sugar, CA. Cognitive-behavioral family treatment for suicide attempt prevention: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2017; 56(6):506–14.Google ScholarPubMed
Kaufman, J, Birmaher, B, Brent, D, et al. Schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia for school-age children-present and lifetime version (K-SADS-PL): Initial reliability and validity data. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 1997; 36(7):980–8.Google Scholar
First, MB, Williams, JB, Karg, RS, Spitzer, RL. Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Disorders, Clinician Version (SCID-5-CV). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 2015.Google Scholar
Weissman, MM, Orvaschel, H, Padian, N. Children’s symptom and social functioning: Self-report scales. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disorders 1980; 168:736–40.Google Scholar
Moos, RH, Moos, BS. Family Environment Scale Manual. Sunnyvale, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press, 1994.Google Scholar
Robin, AL, Weiss, JG. Criterion-related validity of behavioral and self-report measures of problem-solving communication-skills in distressed and non-distressed parent-adolescent dyads. Behavioral Assessment 1980; 2(4):339–52.Google Scholar
Abidin, RR. Parenting Stress Index: A measure of the parent–child system. In Zalaquett, CP, Wood, RJ (eds.), Evaluating Stress: A Book of Resources. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Education, 1997, pp. 277–91.Google Scholar
Bauer, NS, Ofner, S, Pottenger, A, Carroll, AE, Downs, SM. Follow-up of mothers with suspected postpartum depression from pediatrics clinics. Frontiers in Pediatrics 2017; 5:212.Google Scholar
Canty, HR, Sauter, A, Zuckerman, K, Cobian, M, Grigsby, T. Mothers’ perspectives on follow-up for postpartum depression screening in primary care. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics 2019; 40(2):139–43.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McGarry, J, Kim, H, Sheng, X, Egger, M, Baksh, L. Postpartum depression and help‐seeking behavior. Journal of Midwifery and Women’s Health 2009; 54(1):50–6.Google Scholar
Featherstone, B, Broadhurst, K. Engaging parents and carers with family support services: What can be learned from research on help‐seeking?. Child and Family Social Work 2003; 8(4):341–50.Google Scholar
Ougrin, D, Tranah, T, Stahl, D, Moran, P, Asarnow, JR. Therapeutic interventions for suicide attempts and self-harm in adolescents: systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 2015; 54(2):97107.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×