Quick Facts About Psychological Counseling
In psychological counseling, youth with depression work with a qualified mental health care
specialist who listens to them, talks, and helps them correct overly negative thinking and
improve their relationships with others.
Treating Depression with Psychological Counseling
Psychological counseling has been shown to be effective in treating many
youth with depression. Psychological counseling can be done individually
(with only you and a mental health specialist) or in a group (with you,
a mental health specialist, and other youth with similar problems).
More than half of the people with mild to moderate depression respond
well to psychological counseling. While the length of time that persons
are involved in counseling differs, people with depression can typically
expect to attend a weekly hour-long counseling session for 8-20 weeks.
If your depression is not noticeably improved after six to twelve weeks of
counseling, this usually means that you need to try a different treatment
for your depression. Psychological counseling by itself is not recommended
as the only treatment for persons whose depression is more severe. Medication
is needed for this type of depression, and it can be taken in combination with
psychological counseling.
What Can You Do to Help Your Clinician Most Effectively Treat
Your Depression With Psychological Counseling?
Keep all of your appointments with the mental health specialist.
Be honest and open, and ask questions.
Work cooperatively with the mental health specialist
(e.g., complete tasks assigned to you as part of the therapy).
Keep appointments with your primary care clinician and tell him/her
how the therapy is working (e.g., whether your depression is getting better or worse).
From Guidelines for Adolescent Depression in Primary Care
(GLAD-PC) ToolKit (Zucherbrot, Ed) ,
http://www.kidsmentalhealth.org/GLAD-PC.html
