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FRIDAY, Jan. 18, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Therapists implementing interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed adolescents (IPT-A) should routinely monitor depression symptoms and consider augmenting treatment for insufficient responders as early as week 4 of treatment, according to a study published in the January issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Meredith Gunlicks-Stoessel, Ph.D., from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, and colleagues compared two time points (week 4 and week 8) for assessing symptoms during IPT-A for 40 adolescents. Further, the authors explored four algorithms that used the symptom assessments to select the subsequent treatment.<\/p>\n
The researchers found that the week-four decision point for assessing response and implementing treatment augmentation for insufficient responders was more efficacious for reducing depression symptoms than the week 8 decision point. Augmenting IPT-A at four weeks, either by increasing the frequency of sessions to twice per week or adding fluoxetine to therapy, seemed efficacious.<\/p>\n
“These results provide initial guidance for therapists in delivering personalized care that is adapted over time to meet the needs of each individual patient,” the authors write.<\/p>\n