Treating mood disorders in children and adolescents is a tricky business. The pharmaceutical industry has developed some powerful drugs that can blunt some of the more serious imbalances in brain chemicals that are linked to depression, but it’s unclear how those medications can affect still-developing brains. Weighing the benefits of treating depression against the risks associated with the medications remains a challenge for doctors, especially since there are few studies that investigate the effects of antidepressants in minors. Even among adults, antidepressants aren’t always effective; most studies show that between 30% and 50% of people respond to them, and that’s often after cycling through a few of them to find the one that’s best. Another complicating factor is that nearly half of people on antidepressants have been prescribed the drugs off-label . Taken together, it can be hard for well-meaning psychiatrists to decide the best course of treatment for depressed teens. About 11% of Americans ages 12-17 have had a major depressive episode in the past year, according to government data . Not many studies of antidepressants have included children and teens, mainly because of concerns about how these mood-altering drugs can affect young brains. Only one drug, fluoxetine, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for children and teens with major depressive disorder, but because the others are available for adults, many
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