Best Practice Intervention Strategies for Depression

Depression is a crippling mental health issue which affects millions of people worldwide. It can interfere with a young person’s social functioning, as well as how they perform at school and at work. Despite depression being a common experience for young people, few appear to be seeking help for symptoms. This paper sets out best practice intervention strategies for people working with young people who may be experiencing depression. For youth workers and helpline volunteers, best practice involves recognising clinically relevant symptoms, encouraging young people to seek help, and referring them to appropriate services such as Youthline’s face-toface counselling services. For clinical workers, psychotherapy, the combination of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, and establishing a solid and positive therapy relationship appear to be particularly effective. Physical activity and mindfulness-based interventions also appear to show promise.