Medication is not always a panacea in depression treatment of adults and children, although is very usefull in severe cases. But antidepressant drugs are a dangerous matter when they are diagnosed to a child.

After being evaluated by a psychiatrist specialized in children treatment, a depressed child shall follow the treatment diagnosed by him. Medication shall be diagnosed only if it is needed, since therapy will be the best choice in children treatment.

The doctor or other therapist, such as a psychologist or a social worker along whith the parents of the depressed child will play an important role on the disease situation of their child either in therapy and/or receiving medication.

It is known that the number of children and teens diagnosed with depression in the United States have doubled between the years 1995 and 2002, as well as the use of antidepressant drugs have increased too. The use of psychotherapy or counseling, however, has declined.

According to experts, there may be a quantity of cases, where exist an inappropriate prescribing situation to children, as guidelines state that children shall be treated in a better way with either mental health counseling or a mix of counseling and medication.

Therefore, antidepressants should not replace talk therapy in kids as says FDA warnings, though new research shows an increase in prescriptions for the mood-altering drugs as therapy sessions declined.

Researchers of Stanford University School of Medicine stated that many teens received only medication, including drugs not approved for use by children, instead psychotherapy for treating children depression.