Child Depression Program

Our approach to pediatric depression care

Children and teens can experience different types of depressive disorders. Our mental health specialists have deep expertise in diagnosing all types of depression.

Your child’s provider uses evidence-based diagnostic screening tools to better understand your child’s experience and symptoms. The care team uses this evaluation to determine the type and severity of the depressive disorder affecting your child and uses this information to customize your child’s treatment plan.

Depression can look different in a child than an adult. Your child may:

• Feel sad, hopeless, or irritable
• Not want to do fun things or not find them enjoyable
• Overeat or not eat enough
• Perform poorly in school or refuse to go
• Seem overly clingy
• Sleep more (or less) than usual
• Struggle to pay attention
• Think about self-harm or suicide
• Use drugs or alcohol

We offer a full range of treatments for children experiencing depression and co-occurring conditions like anxiety. Your child may receive:

• Talk therapy (psychotherapy), such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
• Individual, group, or family therapy
• Medications for depression and other mood disorders
• Outpatient or inpatient care at our DBT program

Our mental health specialists offer DBT, a proven therapy that helps children and teens with depression learn to better manage their emotions and behaviors.

DBT focuses on:

• Mindfulness, to help your child become aware of their thoughts, feelings, and surroundings in a nonjudgmental way
• Distress tolerance, to help your child cope with painful emotions in the moment without resorting to impulsive or self-destructive behaviors
• Emotion regulation, to help your child identify and manage their emotions, reducing the frequency and severity of mood swings
• Interpersonal effectiveness skills, to help your child learn how to communicate their needs, navigate conflict, and build stronger, healthier relationships

Our 3East adolescent DBT programs combine individual and group therapy sessions. Our care teams use DBT to help teach teens and young adults how to:

• Build interpersonal skills
• Develop self-awareness
• Manage attention
• Regulate emotions
• Tolerate stress

We offer several 3East DBT intensive programs:

• Outpatient DBT, providing therapy for teens with depression and high-risk behaviors, such as suicidal ideation, substance use, eating disorders, and risky sexual behaviors
• Adolescent DBT partial hospital program (PHP), providing weekday therapy for up to six weeks
• Residential assessment program, providing 24/7 support for two weeks
• Intensive residential program, providing 24/7 support for teens with severe depression who may have thoughts of self-harm or suicide

The Arlington School at McLean Hospital is a fully accredited, nationally recognized college preparatory high school for students with major depression and other issues that interfere with schooling. Your teen receives an education and mental health support.

This private day school for grades nine through 12 may be right for your teen if they have:

• Clinical depression, anxiety, ADHD, bipolar disorder, trauma, or another condition that affects schooling and self-esteem
• Complex learning styles
• Disrupted educational experiences due to school absences