what types of treatment are available for depression in college students scholarly articles

The body of research on the remaining treatments is smaller and the status of these treatments is varied: interpersonal therapy (IPT) is well established; family therapy (FT) is possibly effective; and short-term psychoanalytic therapy (PT) is experimental treatment.

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How can colleges help depressed students?

“I keep telling people that we are kind of like family practice for college students,” McSharry said. “We see people for their physicals, women’s health exams, muscle and skeletal problems. One of our main services is helping with depression and ...

How to help college students counteract depression and anxiety?

• Create a Support Plan. If your college-bound student is currently working with a therapist for anxiety treatment, chances are the therapist is helping him prepare for the transition and figure ...
• Review and Address Red Flags. ...
• Discuss Coping Skills that Work. ...
• Talk About Self-Care. ...
• Check-In Periodically. ...

Why do so many college students have depression?

Poor mental health has become a kind of epidemic among college students, and depression has been sweeping through universities everywhere. Adolescents are already especially prone to mental illness because of the turbulence of the growing process, and the stressors of college tend to exacerbate that predisposition.

How to survive College with depression?

Surviving college with depression is a whole other level of challenging. Here are some things that I have learned on the way that have helped me make it to my junior year. Find your triggers .

What type of therapy is used for depression?

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT, helps an individual identify and change negative thoughts and associated behaviors. People who suffer from depression often struggle with negative thought patterns. These thought patterns can influence our behavior.

How can college students improve mental health?

Ways that college students can manage mental healthTake care of health and well-being. ... Time management. ... Keep track of mental health concerns. ... Surround yourself with good people (even if it's virtually) ... Practice mindfulness. ... Avoid drug and alcohol use. ... Find ways to get involved. ... Utilize mental health services.

What do schools do for students with depression?

Students with depression may need:treatment from mental health professionals.emotional support from a school counselor or school psychologist.a 504 plan for accommodations at school.short breaks throughout the day to avoid feeling overwhelmed.extra time or extra help to complete assignments.to take medication.More items...

What three types of therapy have been found most effective in treating depression?

Certain types of therapy like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Mindfulness therapies, Interpersonal Therapy, and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy are proven to be effective in treating depression.

How are colleges helping students with stress?

Factors contributing to students' stress include isolation, trauma, and external pressures. Colleges can support students by forming intervention teams and wraparound services.

What causes college students depression?

A lack of sleep, poor eating habits, and not enough exercise are a recipe for depression among college students. The stress that comes with academia — including financial worries, pressure to get a good job after school, and failed relationships — is enough to force some students to leave college or worse.

How do you approach a student with depression?

6 Actionable Steps To Help Students with DepressionDevelop a Working and Collaborative Relationship with the Student. ... Avoid Negative Techniques. ... Make Adjustments or Accommodations in Assignments or Tasks. ... Plan for Success. ... Consult With Your School Psychologist, School Counselor, or School Social Worker.More items...•

How many college students in the US have depression?

Up to 44% of college students reported having symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Which form of therapy is most effective for major depression?

Studies have shown that cognitive therapy is an effective treatment for depression and is comparable in effectiveness to antidepressants and interpersonal or psychodynamic therapy. The combination of cognitive therapy and antidepressants has been shown to effectively manage severe or chronic depression.

What is the most effective way to treat depression?

Medications and psychotherapy are effective for most people with depression. Your primary care doctor or psychiatrist can prescribe medications to relieve symptoms. However, many people with depression also benefit from seeing a psychiatrist, psychologist or other mental health professional.

What are the 2 types of treatment for major depressive disorder?

There are several treatment methods for major depression disorder. These approaches include psychotherapy, antidepressant medications, electroconvulsive treatment (ECT), and other somatic therapies. However, ECT is generally avoided, except in extreme circumstances, in favor of both psychotherapy and antidepressants.

What are the phases of depression?

Schematically, one may categorize the treatment of depression into three phases: acute, continuation, and maintenance.3,4As summarized in Table I, each phase is defined by specific aims and strategies. Some aspects remain under discussion, especially those concerning the appropriate duration of long-term treatment.

What are the most common sleep abnormalities in depression?

Many of the sleep abnormalities in depression also occur in other psychiatric disorders. The most characteristic alterations in the sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) during major depression are a shortened latency to rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and an increase in REM density. These changes might represent vulnerability markers. Recently it has been reported that the increased REM density was observed not only in depressed patients, but also in their healthy relatives who subsequently developed an affective disorder.50Furthermore, increased REM density has been found to be predictive for the occurrence of recurrences in follow-up and has been related to excessive stress hormone response in the DEX/CRH-test (owing to HPA axis overdrive).51This suggests that EEG and HPA disturbances may reflect important mechanisms responsible for causing and maintaining the disease process of depression.

How do you know if you are depressed?

Typical symptoms of depression include depressed mood, diminished interest or pleasure (anhedonia), feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt, decrease in appetite and libido, insomnia, and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide (in about half of patients). Up to 15% of patients with severe depression die from suicide.9Suicidal risk should be assessed not only at the initiation of the treatment, but repeatedly throughout treatment (typically this risk is increased during the first 2 weeks of treatment). In fact, it appears that the risk of suicide attempt does not differ among antidepressants, but the rate of death from overdose is higher with tricyclics (owing to their cardiotoxicity) than with nontricyclics.10This may have implications for the choice of an antidepressant for a depressed patient at risk for suicidal behavior. On the other hand, about half of suicide victims with major depression had received inadequate treatment.11

What is the primary conceptual framework to some of the phenomena of illness initiation and progression?

The primary conceptual framework to some of the phenomena of illness initiation and progression is the “kindling “ hypothesis,81,82inspired by temporal and developmental similarities between the clinical course of affective disorders and that of seizure disorders. Kindling is a form of sensitization of the brain tissue (eg, limbic and other subcortical areas) leading to functional and structural alteration, including the induction of gene transcription factors such as c-fos. Induction of c-fos leads to neurochemical changes at neurotransmitter and receptor levels.

What is the first decision a clinician has to make?

The first decision the clinician has to make is whether to hospitalize a depressed patient or to schedule outpatient treatment. Hospitalization is indicated when there is a risk of suicide or homicide associated or not with a severe depression- in particular with psychotic features- a notion of “treatment resistance” (supporting in fact the concept of therapeutic inefficacy or inadequacy, needing therefore an alternative therapeutic strategy), the absence of a patient support system, or the need for complementary diagnostic procedures.

Is depression a heterogeneous disease?

Depression is both clinically and biologically a heterogeneous entity. Typically the course of the disease is recurrent - 75% of patients experience more than one episode of major depression within 10 years. Although most patients recover from major depressive episode, about 50% have an inadequate response to an individual antidepressant trial.5Moreover, a substantial proportion of patients (about 10%6) become chronic (ie, 2 years without clinical remission) which then leads to severe and cognitive functional impairment as well as psychosocial disability.7Therefore, the assertion that the clinical efficacy of antidepressants is comparable between the classes and within the classes of those medications8may be true from a statistical viewpoint but is of limited value in practice. For a given patient, antidepressant drugs may produce differences in therapeutic response and tolerability.

Is depression a phasic disease?

Depression, both unipolar and bipolar, is a “phasic” disease. Stressful life events are known to trigger depressive episodes, while their influence seems to decrease over the course of the illness. This suggests that depression is associated with progressive stress response abnormalities, possibly linked to impairments of structural plasticity and cellular resilience. It therefore appears crucial to adequately treat depression in the early stages of the illness, in order to prevent morphological and functional abnormalities. While evidence suggests that a severely depressed patient needs antidepressant drug therapy and that a non-severely depressed patient may benefit from other approaches (ie, “nonbiological”), little research has been done on the effectiveness of different treatments for depression. The assertion that the clinical efficacy of antidepressants is comparable between the classes and within the classes of those medications may be true from a statistical viewpoint, but is of limited value in practice. The antidepressant drugs may produce differences in therapeutic response and tolerability. Among the possible predictors of outcome in depression treatment, those derived from clinical assessment, neuroendocrine investigations, polysomnographic sleep parameters, genetic variables, and brain imaging techniques have been extensively studied. This article also reviews therapeutic strategies used when initial treatment fails, and describes briefly new concepts in antidepressant therapies such as the regulation of disturbances in circadian rhythms. The treatment of depressive illness does not stop with treatment of acute episodes, and has to be envisaged as a continuous therapeutic intervention, of which we are still not able to determine the optimal duration of treatment and the moment that it should be ceased.

What is the first line of treatment for depression in adolescents?

Transdiagnostic protocols, delivery of therapy through information and communication technologies, and indicated prevention programs are currently expanding lines of research. In conclusion, the first-line psychological treatments for depression in adolescents are individual CBT and individual IPT.

What is depression in adolescents?

Keywords: adolescents, depression, psychological treatments, qualitative review. Go to: 1. Depression in Adolescence: A Public Health Problem. Depression is a major public health concern; it is the most disabling single disorder, contributing to 7.2% of the overall burden of disease in Europe [ 1 ].

What was the first review of empirically supported treatments?

The first review that applied the Criteria for Empirically Supported Treatments [ 156] to evaluate the efficacy of psychological treatments [ 157] identified seven trials on adolescent depression , and considered CWD-A to be the only treatment that had achieved probable efficacious status, based on the two trials by the research team of Lewinsohn [ 14, 25 ], which demonstrated the superiority of CBT over WL. This paucity of results is understandable, considering that when the review was published in 1998, barely three years had elapsed since the development of the classification criteria for evidence-based therapy.

Why were the FT trials excluded?

In the current review, we excluded seven of the ten FT trials identified because the samples did not meet our inclusion criteria. In the trial by Sanford and colleagues [ 37 ], not all adolescents met criteria for MDD; the trial by Trowell and colleagues [ 43] involved children and adolescents with a mean age of less than 12 years; the trial by Connell and Dishion [ 45] included high-risk adolescents based on parent and teacher reports of emotional or behavioral problems. Participants in the trial by Diamond and colleagues [ 51] had suicidal ideation and a major depressive episode, anxiety, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant or conduct disorders. Horigian and colleagues [ 62] included participants who were in substance use treatment and had symptoms of depression and anxiety. Rohde and colleagues [ 69] studied adolescents with comorbid substance abuse and depressive disorders. In the sample of Diamond and colleagues [ 104 ], participants were adolescents with suicidal ideation and depressive or anxiety disorders. Although in the trials by Sanford and colleagues [ 37] and Rohde and colleagues [ 69 ], a significant percentage of the adolescents had a depressive disorder 71% and 72%, respectively, there was no significant difference in depression measures between FT and the groups with which they were compared. Disparate results were obtained in the four trials included in the current review. In the two trials of Diamond’s team, FT was superior to TAU [ 128] and WL [ 119 ], although in the other trials no difference was found with TAU [ 136] or supportive therapy, and FT was inferior to CBT [ 114 ]; thus, the status of FT as possibly efficacious did not change.

Is FT an experimental treatment?

In the first trial, attachment-based FT [ 119] was shown to be superior to WL, but in the second trial, psychoeducation-based FT [ 37] did not differ significantly from TAU; thus, FT was rated to be an experimental treatment. The 2016 review [ 159] incorporated two new trials [ 51, 69 ], plus a third one [ 43] in which they analyzed childhood depression. The two adolescent trials, one by Diamond and colleagues [ 51] and one by Rohde and colleagues [ 69 ], failed to find a significant reduction in depressive symptoms between FT and control conditions; thus, it did not change the possibly efficacious status.

Is CWD-A effective in adolescent depression?

At the end of treatment, the rate of recovery from depression was significantly higher in CWD-A (39%) than in LST (19%), and depressive symptoms reduced more, according to adolescent self-report and clinician assessment. There also was an improvement in social functioning; the between-group difference in conduct disorder was not significant, however. The rate of recovery from depression was the same in both groups one year later (63%).

Is adolescent depression similar to adult depression?

The authors argued that if adolescent depression is similar to adult depression, then treatment applied to the adult population, adapted to the level of adolescent development, would be effective in overcoming depression in adolescents.

What databases are used to find depression among college students?

The databases PsycINFO, MEDLINE, and CINAHL were searched for studies related to depression among U.S. college students and treatment outcome by using the following terms: "depression," "college or university or graduate or junior college or community college students," "colleges," "community colleges," "treatment and prevention," "empirical study," and "peer reviewed journal." Initially, no limitation was placed on years included in the search. Eighteen relevant publications were read and analyzed closely for method and content, with particular focus on location and inclusion criteria of study participants. Studies were eliminated if participants were students at colleges outside of the United States, if the studies did not have specific depression criteria for inclusion, or if the students included were at risk of depression but did not meet criteria for having depression. Nine remaining articles were reviewed further, and it was decided that the five studies published before 1990 had decreased relevance and would be excluded from this review in light of the growing availability of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor medications since 1990, which substantially changed the treatment of depression among college students. In addition, the demographic characteristics of U.S. college students may have changed since the early 1990s, with many college counseling center directors noting a trend in recent years of an increase in students with serious psychological problems ( 2 ). Only four articles ( 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 ) remained for this review of depression and treatment outcomes of U.S. college students.

How does depression affect college students?

Depression has been linked to academic difficulties as well as interpersonal problems at school , with more severe depression correlated with higher levels of impairment ( 5 ). The treatment of depression among college students has been associated with a protective effect on these students' grade point averages ( 6 ). In an effort to diagnose and treat early and effectively, and thus decrease the excess morbidity and risk of suicide associated with depression, some U.S. colleges have even begun to screen students for depression in the primary care setting ( 7 ).

How long does it take for a college student to recover from depression?

The authors found that within the 26-week period of no treatment, 68% of the college students who were initially depressed recovered. Among those who recovered, 21% relapsed by the end of the 26-week period into another major depressive episode.

When did Pace and Dixon conduct a controlled trial?

In 1993 Pace and Dixon ( 11 ) conducted a four- to seven-week randomized controlled trial to assess the treatment effectiveness of individual cognitive therapy for college students with depressive symptoms. Participating undergraduate students earned course credit for their research involvement.

What is the Geisner study?

10. Geisner I, Neighbors C, Larimer M: A randomized clinical trial of a brief, mailed intervention for symptoms of depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 74:393–399, 2006 Google Scholar

What is the treatment for depression?

The typical treatment for depression includes antidepressants or other medications, psychotherapy (talk therapy), or a combination of the two interventions. Personalizing treatment to the individual can increase the chances that it will be successful. Antidepressants are a class of drugs used to treat depression.

What is the best therapy for depression?

Talk therapy programs like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) help people with depression identify the negative thoughts and behaviors that result from depression, and replace them with more positive strategies for building coping skills and psychological resilience. Therapy can be done one-on-one with a therapist, as part of a group, or together with a partner or other family members.

What is the class of drugs used to treat depression?

Antidepressants are a class of drugs used to treat depression. They include the following types:

What are the two chemicals that are involved in depression?

Low serotonin levels have been linked to depression. Serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) work on two brain chemicals—serotonin and norepinephrine. Atypical antidepressants act on the brain in a different way from other antidepressants.

How long does it take for an antidepressant to work?

Antidepressants can take up to four weeks to start working. It can take a few tries to find the best drug and dosage combination that will relieve your depression.

How long does depression last?

Along with major depression, there are several other types of depression, which are characterized by their symptoms or causes: Dysthymia, or persistent depressive disorder, is a milder form of depression in which symptoms last for at least two years.

What is the best way to diagnose depression?

Doctors start the diagnostic process with a physical exam and lab work to rule out possible physical causes of depression, such as a thyroid disorder or vitamin deficiency. A psychologist or physician can do a psychological evaluation, asking questions and assessing symptoms according to established criteria for identifying depression and arriving at a diagnosis.

What are the symptoms of depression?

Depression is characterized by a set of symptoms including a lack of interest in daily activities, significant weight loss or gain, sleep pattern alterations, lack of energy, loss of concentration, feelings of worthlessness or guilt and even recurrent thoughts of death or suicide [7].

What are the two sections of the sociodemographic questionnaire?

The questionnaire was divided into two sections, namely sociodemographic characteristics (including anthropometry and habits) and psychological health . Sociodemographic data included a list of variables generally associated with psychological distress in younger populations [20,21], namely age, gender, bachelor’s degree, place of residence, personal relationship, height, weight, financial status, tobacco and alcohol consumption, physical activity, diet and Internet use. As in a previous study by Mahroon et al. [30], the variable age was dichotomized into <21 and ≥21. This allowed us to estimate differences in the prevalence of anxiety, stress and depression in relation to the students’ age group and year of study. The variable body mass index (BMI) was calculated from weight and height self-report (BMI = kg/m2). BMI was trichotomized to: (1) low BMI (≤18.5 kg/m2), (2) normal BMI (18.5–24.9 kg/m2) and (3) high BMI/obese (≥25 kg/m2).

How many items are in the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale?

The participants’ self-esteem was assessed using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES). This tool consists of 10 items, five of which are expressed in positive statements and the other five in negative statements. Negative items were reverse-scored prior to analysis. The RSES uses a 4-point response scale (1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = agree; 4 = strongly agree) with total scores ranging from 10 to 40. Respondents are classified into three levels of self-esteem: high self-esteem (≥30 points), medium self-esteem (26–29 points) and low self-esteem (≤25 points) [36].

Why are university students at increased risk of depression?

University students may be at increased risk of depression owing to the pressure and stress they encounter. Therefore, the purpose of this study is comparing the level of depression among male and female athletes and non-athletes undergraduate student of private university in Esfahan, Iran.

How many people have depression?

Approximately 23.43% of participants experienced depression, which included 1.68% of mild depression, 8.98% of moderate depression, and moderately severe depression, and the remaining 3.37% of severe depression.

What are the trends in the 1995 college freshmen class?

Trends in the following areas are covered: (1) alcohol and drugs, (2) physical health, (3) psychological health, and (4) sexual attitudes. Gender and institutional differences in health behaviors and attitudes among the 1995 class of college freshmen are also considered.

Is depression a mental illness?

The current state of work and social pressures caused the depression to be declared as the common mental illness among Malaysian by 2020. This mental illness may cause mental health problems among university students due to stress resulted from stressful events in the university environment. Without proper treatment, this can cause disability and even suicide. However, knowing the fact that depression is a treatable illness, therefore, address the illness, and develop preventive strategies in managing mental wellbeing is needed. The primary objective of the present study is to determine the prevalence and severity of depression among university students in Malaysia. This quantitative and cross-sectional study employed 175 undergraduate students from a public university in a rural area. Depression and the severity of the depression were assessed using the validated Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data to answer research objectives. Approximately 23.43% of participants experienced depression, which included 1.68% of mild depression, 8.98% of moderate depression, and moderately severe depression, and the remaining 3.37% of severe depression. A considerable proportion of undergraduate students with depression found in this study has called upon the management of the university to pay serious and priority attention to develop psychosocial counselling or targeted intervention for identified depressed students.

Is physical activity related to depression?

Physical activity was negatively related to the level of depression by severity among male and female undergraduate students. However, there is no distinct relationship between physical activity and level of depression according to the age of athlete and nonathlete male and female undergraduate students.

What are the treatment outcomes for depression?

Treatment outcomes for depression: challenges and opportunities. Depressive disorders are common, costly, have a strong effect on quality of life, and are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Effective treatments are available: antidepressant medication and talking therapies are included in most guidelines as first-line treatments.

How many trials have been done for depression?

However, less than 20% of drug trials and less than 30% of therapy trials have low risk of bias, making the outcomes uncertain. Typically, such trials do not have sufficient statistical power to examine for whom a treatment is effective, resulting in no reliable evidence on who benefits most from which treatment. Also, many different outcome measures are used in treatment research, making it impossible to merge the results of trials without interfering noise. Additionally, longer-term effects are not examined in most trials. Despite more than 1000 trials having been done, very basic questions of real-life importance to people with depression and those trying to help them have not been answered. For example, should adolescents with depression be treated differently to young adults? Should individuals having a first-ever episode be treated differently from patients who had a depressive disorder in the past? What is the best next treatment when an individual does not respond to the first treatment? What sort of approaches or interventions outside current treatments might be helpful for which people and in what contexts?

How many trials have been conducted on antidepressants?

In the past decades, more than 500 randomised trials have examined the effects of antidepressant medications, and more than 600 trials have examined the effects of psychotherapies for depression (although comparatively few are conducted for early-onset depression).

How many drug trials have low risk of bias?

However, less than 20% of drug trials and less than 30% of therapy trials have low risk of bias, making the outcomes uncertain. Typically, such trials do not have sufficient statistical power to examine for whom a treatment is effective, resulting in no reliable evidence on who benefits most from which treatment.

Is it possible to predict who is most likely to benefit from which interventions or approaches?

Moreover, predicting who is most likely to benefit from which interventions or approaches is not currently possible . People are often exposed to different forms of help before they find one that works for them. The underlying mechanisms of how different interventions work are still not largely understood.

Do patients show improvement with treatment?

while a substantial number of patients do not show improvement with treatment ( table ).

Is depressive disorder a costly disease?

Institutional Access. Depressive disorders are common, costly, have a strong effect on quality of life, and are associated with considerable morbidity and mortality. Effective treatments are available: antidepressant medication and talking therapies are included in most guidelines as first-line treatments.

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusions

• In light of the high prevalence of depression among college students today and the risks and sequelae this illness poses if not diagnosed and treated early and effectively, it is imperative that research funding be increased for both naturalistic and intervention studies of depression and treatment outcomes in the college health setting. First, res...

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