Can children benefit when depressed mothers get treatment?

Mental health professionals have long debated the impact that depressed mothers have on their children. An article published in Psychiatric News (8/1/08) titled, “Children Benefit When Moms Get Depression Treatment,” examines this issue. The article reported on a study of 123 mothers with major depressive disorder and their children, originally published in the American Journal of Psychiatry. The mothers underwent the following treatment algorithm: “those who did not reach remission on citalopram after up to 14 weeks were treated with two additional steps using options that included switching to another antidepressant, switching to cognitive therapy, and continuing with citalopram augmented with bupropion, buspirone, or cognitive therapy.” The children were examined every 3 months for a year. The results of the study were very encouraging. “Researchers found that 70 of the 123 mothers experienced remission during the study period, and…there was a significant decrease in the number of [psychiatric] symptoms among children of mothers who experienced a remission of depressive symptoms.” The results of this study strongly suggest that depressed mothers should seek effective treatment, both for their own sake and for the sake of their children.

The Bottom Line: This study strongly supports the idea that depressed mothers should seek effective treatment, both for their own sake and for the sake of their children.

Reference: Original article

Suggested Reading:

1. Overcoming Depression: A Step-by-Step Approach to Gaining Control Over Depression (Paperback) by Paul Gilbert(Author)>
2. Overcoming Depression One Step at a Time: The New Behavioral Activation Approach to Getting Your Life Back (New Harbinger Self-Help Workbook) (Paperback) by Michael E., Ph.D. Addis (Author), Christopher R. Martell (Author)
3. Depression for Dummies (Paperback) by Laura L., PhD Smith (Author), Charles H., PhD Elliott (Author)
4. Anxiety & Depression Workbook For Dummies (For Dummies (Psychology & Self Help)) (Paperback) by Charles H., PhD Elliott (Author), Laura L., PhD Smith (Author), Aaron T., MD Beck (Author)

Additional Resources:

• For related articles on depression on the Web, click on: “Sphere: Related Content” located at the bottom of this blog post.
• For related books or blog posts with related content in Dr. Jeff’s and Dr. Tanya’s Blog, go to “Psychiatric Disorders: Depression” or type in the keyword “depression” into “Google Search” located in the sidebar.
• For related articles from Psychology Today, click on the “Psychology Today” banner in the side bar and type in the keyword, “depression” into the Psychology Today “Search”.
• For more books with related content, click any hyperlinked keyword in the blog or type in the keyword, “depression” into “Amazon Search” on the Amazon banner located in the side bar.

Depression Support Groups:

http://www.beatingthebeast.com/forum/

http://www.journeytowardsfreedom.com/forum/index.php?

Dr. Jeffrey Speller

Dr. Tanya Korkosz

Psychopharmacology Associates of New England

www.psychopharmassociates.com