title: Cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy for anxiety and depressive disorders in children and adolescents: an evidence-based medicine review.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To review the literature on the cognitive-behavioral treatment of children and adolescents with anxiety and depressive disorders within the conceptual framework of evidence-based medicine.
  
  
  METHODS
  The psychiatric and psychological literature was systematically searched for controlled trials applying cognitive-behavioral treatment to pediatric anxiety and depressive disorders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For both anxiety and depression, substantial evidence supports the efficacy of problem-specific cognitive-behavioral interventions. Comparisons with wait-list, inactive control, and active control conditions suggest medium to large effects for symptom reduction in primary outcome domains.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  From an evidence-based perspective, cognitive-behavioral therapy is currently the treatment of choice for anxiety and depressive disorders in children and adolescents. Future research in this area will need to focus on comparing cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy with other treatments, component analyses, and the application of exportable protocol-driven treatments to divergent settings and patient populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Psychology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710, USA. scompton@duke.edu
authors.forename: Scott N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Compton
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: March
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Brent
authors.forename: Anne Marie
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Albano
authors.forename: Robin
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Weersing
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Curry
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; D018849:Controlled Clinical Trials as Topic; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans