Group psychotherapy for depressed adolescents: a critical review

The usefulness and efficacy of group psychotherapy with a variety of adolescent problems has been well documented. Far less has been reported with respect to group treatment approaches for youthful depressives, however. Currently available treatments lack specificity, making replication difficult. Additionally, they often focus on a narrow range of deficit areas rather than addressing the multifaceted range of dysfunction characteristic of depression in adolescents. This paper critically reviews the available literature on group treatments with depressed adolescents, explores some of the shortcomings inherent in these reports, and suggests alternatives for future group protocols. It is proposed that subsequent interventions be manualized and that they target affective, behavioral, and cognitive aspects of adolescent depression. Such an approach would be more amenable to scientific investigation, replication, and comparison with alternative approaches.