Effects of psychotherapy for depression in children and adolescents: What we can (and can't) learn from meta-analysis and component profiling

In this column, we comment on the state of the science regarding psychotherapy for youths (including children and adolescents) with depression. We begin by discussing our recent meta-analysis of the youth depression clinical trials literature to illustrate how meta-analysis can be of use to clinicians. We consider how to interpret measures of effect size, introduce some cautionary notes, and discuss the Treatment of Adolescent Depression Study (TADS; TADS Team, 2004) as an example of factors that may contribute to effect size. Then, using a component profile, we describe the techniques most often used in the most successful treatments for youth depression. When combined, we suggest, meta-analysis and component profiling can shed light on the magnitude of treatment benefit and on the treatment techniques associated with that benefit.