Talk therapy in combination with antidepressants works best in treating adolescents who suffer depression, according to a nationwide study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. David Rosenberg, M.D., WSU professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience and Miriam L. Hamburger Chair of Child Psychiatry, led the 12-week study locally.

Seventy-one percent of patients who used combined treatment methods showed substantial improvement on a depression rating scale. In comparison, similar improvement was noted in only 61 percent of those who used Prozac alone, 43 percent of those who used talk therapy alone and 35 percent of those who received a placebo.

Although there were no suicide attempts during the study, suicidal tendencies were reported in nine patients receiving Prozac, six in the talk-plus-Prozac group and four receiving a placebo. Because only 24 out of 439 patients exhibited these tendencies, it's unclear whether the differences in therapy are significant. The study excluded adolescents at high risk for suicide based on recent behavior or thoughts.

WSU was one of 13 sites nationally that participated in the study and is considered a center of excellence in the research and treatment of mood and anxiety disorders among children and adolescents. With funding from the NIH, Dr. Rosenberg's group is currently investigating various therapies, including medical antidepressants, in mood and anxiety disorders in children, as well as studying changes in brain chemistry using sophisticated brain imaging.