Antidepressant Research Paper

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Running Head: FLUOXETINE AND COGNITIVE BEHAVIORAL THERAPY Treatment of Depression in Adolescents: Effectiveness of Combing Fluoxetine and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Elizabeth Bledsoe Truman State University Abstract Adolescents face depression due to many stressors they experience. Symptoms of depression can range from irregular sleep patterns to suicide. Antidepressants are commonly used to treat depression. The most noted antidepressant is fluoxetine, also known as Prozac. Studies have shown that fluoxetine use alone is somewhat effective in treating depression; however, newer treatments need to be found. In response to this researchers have begun to study the combination of fluoxetine…show more content…
The social dynamics of school, puberty, life at home, and many other factors affect the psyche of teens during this time in their life both positively and negatively. Some of these transitions cause emotional instability in the lives of adolescents, spiraling some into depression. When dealing with major depression, antidepressants are often used to help the adolescent cope by creating a feeling of balance. There is debate on adolescents using antidepressants. Stephen Barlas reports in Psychiatric Times that antidepressants are found to cause “possible suicidal ideation and suicide attempts as side effects” (2006). With these possible side effects, parents are looking at other treatment options to help their children, including the combination of antidepressants with cognitive behavioral therapy. When researching about various antidepressants, fluoxetine, also known as Prozac, offered the most relevant and conclusive data concerning its effects on adolescents, and it was the most noted antidepressant combined with cognitive behavioral therapy. This paper will examine the symptoms of adolescent depression, how using the antidepressant fluoxetine affects depression in adolescents, and the results of studies using the combination of fluoxetine and cognitive behavioral therapy to treat major depression in…show more content…
Cognitive behavioral therapy is a way to monitor any behaviors that may eventually lead the adolescent to commit suicide. In cognitive behavioral therapy, the person is made aware of how his or her actions towards certain thoughts and feelings can lead to unhealthy moods. It focuses on fixing the person’s thoughts and feelings in order to help treat depression. According to editors and writers for the periodical Drug Week, “[c]ognitive behavioral therapy, a form of psychotherapy, was found to be effective if combined with fluoxetine use” (2005). A study was conducted by Dr. Graham Emslie, a professor at UT Southwestern, within the last decade that included 334 teenagers, all of whom suffered from major depression. In the study, the researchers looked at the types of treatment each participant was receiving in order to treat his or her depression. It was concluded from the study that those participants that were unresponsive to their initial antidepressant “responded when they switched to a different antidepressant and participated in cognitive behavioral therapy” (Drug Week, 2008). Using these results Emslie concluded that “medication and therapy do not have to be independent of each other” (Drug Week, 2008). Dr. Emslie states in her report that “if you haven’t had a good response with antidepressants,
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