Kaiser Permanente finds cognitive behavioral therapy cost-effective for teens who don't want to use antidepressants

A Kaiser Permanente study finds cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) offered in a primary care setting is a cost-effective way to treat adolescents with depression who decline or quickly stop using antidepressants. The two-year study reveals that:

• Depression-related healthcare costs for adolescents who received CBT were about $5,000 less on average than depressed adolescents in the control group, who received usual care without CBT; and
• A CBT intervention can be brief and still deliver long-term benefits in terms of cost and clinical outcomes.