Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for an Indian Adolescent With Depression

Abstract

This case study describes the treatment of an adolescent male, referred to as ML, who presented with a significant decline in academic performance coupled with a difficulty in coping with parental pressure. A formal assessment revealed the signs of moderate depression with anxiety features, especially on the dimensions of tension and guilt proneness. He was treated with 12 sessions of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) along with group sessions of family therapy and interpersonal therapy. ML’s progress throughout treatment is detailed in this case study report. Results lend support to the body of case series studies attesting to the efficacy of CBT for use with adolescents with depression and anxiety, further implicating the importance of the role played by the parents in the conceptualization, maintenance, as well as treatment of the adolescent.

Keywords

academic decline adolescent depression cognitive-behavioral therapy India parental pressure

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adolescent Depression. (2012, December). The New York Times—Health Guide. Retrieved from http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/adolescent-depression/overview.html

Avasthi

(2010). Preserve and strengthen family to promote mental health. Indian Journal of Psychiatry, 52, 113-126.

Bansal

Goyal

Srivastava

(2009). Study of prevalence of depression in adolescent students of a public school. Industrial Psychiatry Journal, 18, 43-46.

Beck

A. T.

Rush

A. J.

Shaw

B. F.

Emery

(1979). Cognitive therapy of depression. New York, NY: Guilford.

Beck

A. T.

Ward

C. H.

Mendelson

Mock

Erbaugh

(1961). An inventory for measuring depression. Archives of General Psychiatry, 4, 561-571.

Bender

(1938). A Visual-Motor Gestalt Test and its clinical use (Research Monograph No. 3). New York, NY: The American Orthopsychiatric Association.

Bennett

G. K.

Seashore

H. G.

Wesman

A. G.

(1990). Differential Aptitude Tests (5th ed.). San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.

Bhargava

Sandhu

(1987). Guidelines for Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test. Lucknow, India: Ankur Psychological Agency.

Bhatia

C. M.

(1955). Performance Tests of Intelligence under Indian conditions. London, England: Oxford University Press.

10.

Brent

Poling

(1997). Cognitive therapy treatment manual for depressed and suicidal youth. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh, Services for Teens at Risk.

11.

Chafey

M. I. J.

Bernal

Rosselló

(2008). Clinical case study: CBT for depression in a Puerto Rican adolescent: Challenges and variability in treatment response. Depression and Anxiety, 26, 98-103. doi:10.1002/da.20457

12.

Chekki

(1996). Family values and family change. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 27, 409-413.

13.

Clabby

J. F.

(2006). Helping depressed adolescents: A menu of cognitive-behavioral procedures for primary care. Primary Care Companion to the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 8, 131-141.

14.

Curry

J. F.

(2001). Specific psychotherapies for childhood and adolescent depression. Biological Psychiatry, 49, 1091-1100.

15.

Curry

J. F.

Wells

K. C.

Brent

D. A.

Clarke

G. N.

Rohde

Albano

A. M.

Kolker

(2005). Treatment for Adolescents With Depression Study: Cognitive behavior therapy manual. Durham, NC: Duke University Medical Center.

16.

Garnefski

Legerstee

Kraaij

Van den Kommer

Teerds

(2002). Cognitive coping strategies and symptoms of depression and anxiety: A comparison between adolescents and adults. Journal of Adolescence, 25, 603-611.

17.

Ginsburg

G. S.

Silva

S. G.

Jacobs

R. H.

Tonev

Hoyle

R. H.

Kingery

J. N.

March

J. S.

(2009). Cognitive measures of adolescent depression: Unique or unitary constructs? Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 38, 790-802.

18.

Greening

Stoppelbein

Dhossche

Martin

(2005). Psychometric evaluation of a measure of Beck’s negative cognitive triad for youth: Applications for African-American and Caucasian adolescents. Depression and Anxiety, 21, 161-169.

19.

Groth-Marnat

(1990). The handbook of psychological assessment (2nd ed.). New York, NY: John Wiley.

20.

Hui

C. H.

Triandis

H. C.

(1986). Individualism-collectivism: A study of cross-cultural researchers. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 17, 225-248.

21.

Hyde

J. S.

Mezulis

A. H.

Abramson

L. Y.

(2008). The ABCs of depression: Integrating affective, biological, and cognitive models to explain the emergence of the gender difference in depression. Psychological Review, 115, 291-313.

22.

Jacobs

R. H.

Reinecke

M. A.

Gollan

J. K.

Kane

(2008). Empirical evidence of cognitive vulnerability for depression among children and adolescents: A cognitive science and developmental perspective. Clinical Psychological Review, 28, 759-782.

23.

Karnani

Pomm

H. A.

(2006). Screening for adolescent depression and anxiety in the primary care environment: Calming the storm within. Northeast Florida Medicine, 57(4), 41-46.

24.

Kaslow

Thompson

(1998). Applying the criteria for empirically supported treatments to studies of psychosocial interventions for child and adolescent depression. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 27, 146-155.

25.

Kendall

P. C.

Hedtke

(2006). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxious children: Therapist manual. Ardmore, PA: Workbook Publishing.

26.

Medora

N. P.

Larson

J. H.

Dave

P. B.

(2000). East-Indian college student’s perceptions of family strengths. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 31, 408-424.

27.

Mehrotra

L. P.

(1997). The Indian Adaptation of Thematic Apperception Test. New Delhi, India: National Psychological Corporation.

28.

Mohanraj

Subbaiah

(2010). Prevalence of depressive symptoms among urban adolescents in South India. Journal of Indian Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 6, 33-43.

29.

Nair

M. K. C.

Paul

M. K.

John

(2004). Prevalence of depression among adolescents. Indian Journal of Pediatrics, 71, 523-524.

30.

National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia. (2011). Clinical practice guidelines: Depression in adolescents and young adults. Retrieved from http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?link_id=6.1247

31.

Patel

(2008, March 18-19). The contemporary Indian family: Change and continuity. Workshop conducted at the Department of Sociology, Delhi University, India. Retrieved from http://sociology.du.ac.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=85&Itemid=77

32.

Pershad

Verma

S. K.

(1990). Handbook of PGI Battery of Brain Dysfunction (PGI-BBD). Agra, India: National Psychological Corporation.

33.

Prinstein

M. J.

Chea

C. S.

Guyer

A. E.

(2005). Peer victimization, cue interpretation, and internalizing symptoms: Preliminary concurrent and longitudinal findings for children and adolescents. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 34, 11-24.

34.

Rao

Chen

(2009). Characteristics, correlates, and outcomes of childhood and adolescent depressive disorders. Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 11, 45-62.

35.

Rosenbaum

J. F.

Covino

J. M.

(2005, October). Depression and anxiety in children and adolescents. Medscape Psychiatry & Mental Health, 10(2).

36.

Roth

Fonagy

(2005). What works for whom? A critical review of psychotherapy research (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Guilford.

37.

Sander

J. B.

McCarty

C. A.

(2005). Youth depression in the family context: Familial risk factors and models of treatment. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 8, 203-219.

38.

Srinath

Girimaji

S. C.

Gururaj

Seshadri

Subbakrishna

D. K.

Bhola

Kumar

(2005). Epidemiological study of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders in urban and rural areas of Bangalore, India. Indian Journal of Medical Research, 122, 67-79.

39.

Stein

R. E. K.

Zitner

L. E.

Jensen

P. S.

(2006). Interventions for adolescent depression in primary care. Pediatrics, 118, 669-682.

40.

Steinberg

(2005). Adolescence (7th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

41.

Thompson

E. A.

Mazza

J. J.

Herring

J. R.

Randell

B. P.

Eggert

L. L.

(2005). The mediating roles of anxiety, depression and hopelessness on adolescent suicidal behaviors. Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, 35, 14-34.

42.

Tram

J. M.

Cole

D. A.

(2000). Self-perceived competence and the relation between life events and depressive symptoms in adolescence: Mediator or moderator? Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 109, 753-760.

43.

Triandis

H. C.

Bontempo

Villareal

M. J.

Asai

Lucca

(1988). Individualism and collectivism: Cross-cultural perspectives on self-ingroup relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 323-338.

44.

Vohra

(1997). State Trait Anxiety Test. New Delhi, India: National Psychological Corporation.

45.

World Health Organization. (1994). International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems (10th Rev. ed.). Geneva, Switzerland: Author.