Combined Individual Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Parent Training for Childhood Depression: 2-3-Year Follow-Up

Fourteen children with significant depressive symptoms from an open clinical trial of Primary and Secondary Control Enhancement Training augmented with Caregiver-Child Relationship Enhancement Training, participated in a 2-3-year follow-up assessment. The results suggested that the significant decreases in depressive symptoms observed at post-treatment were maintained at 2-3-year follow-up. Mothers' reports of significant improvement of child psychosocial functioning were also maintained, providing social validation of the effects. Pre-treatment child-rated mother-child relations predicted depressive symptoms at 2-3-year follow-up. These long-term data support the use of the combined intervention and suggest the need for further research on caregiver involvement in treatment.