The Complexities of Youth Depression: The Potential of Mindfulness- and Compassion-Based Interventions

ABSTRACT

Depressive disorders are one of the most commonly diagnosed disorders in youth. When considering the impact of youth depression, there are potential negative outcomes for the child, the parent, and the parent-child relationship, resulting in a complex interplay. The outcomes are often examined separately in the literature, without a consolidation of research that demonstrates the complexity of youth depression. With potential negative outcomes of youth depression, effective treatment becomes crucial. Although psychotherapies for adolescent depression appear to be effective, psychotherapies for child populations may be less effective than previously reported in the research. New directions in psychotherapeutic interventions, such as mindfulness- and compassion-based interventions, may be beneficial not only for the child, but for the parent and the parent-child relationship. The present review addresses the child, parent, and parent-child factors related to youth depression; provides an overview of current psychotherapy outcomes of youth depression; and explores mindfulness- and compassion-based interventions for addressing the complex factors of youth depression. Overall, mindfulness- and compassion-based interventions for both the child and their parent may help to alleviate some of the adverse effects for the child, parent and the parent-child relationship.

KEYWORDS:

• Depression
• mindfulness
• compassion
• youth
• parent

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).