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Guidelines for youth depression: time to incorporate new perspectives

Ian B Hickie and Patrick D McGorry
Med J Aust 2010; 193 (3): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2010.tb03828.x
Published online: 2 August 2010

New guidelines are timely but miss an opportunity to emphasise early intervention for all young people

There are few mental health issues of greater concern to the wider community than the management of young people with depressive disorders. Consequently, the new draft clinical practice guidelines from beyondblue: the national depression initiative1 are timely. The previous National Health and Medical Research Council Clinical practice guidelines: depression in young people were produced in 1997 and rescinded in 2004, and a variety of other international perspectives are now available.2,3


  • 1 Brain and Mind Research Institute, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW.
  • 2 University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC.
  • 3 ORYGEN Youth Health, Melbourne, VIC.
  • 4 ORYGEN Research Centre, Melbourne, VIC.


Correspondence: ian.hickie@sydney.edu.au

Acknowledgements: 

beyondblue have funded previous and current research at ORYGEN Youth Health.

Competing interests:

We are members of the Board of headspace. Ian Hickie is a member of the National Advisory Council on Mental Health.

  • 1. beyondblue: the national depression initiative. Draft clinical practice guidelines: depression in adolescents and young adults, March 2010. http://www.beyondblue.org.au/index.aspx?link_id=6.1247&tmp=FileDownload&fid=1625 (accessed May 2010).
  • 2. National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health, for the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (UK). Depression in children and young people: identification and management in primary, community and secondary care. National Clinical Guideline 28. London: British Psychological Society, 2005.
  • 3. Cheung AH, Zuckerbrot RA, Jensen PS, et al; GLAD-PC Steering Group. Treatment and ongoing management guidelines for adolescent depression in primary care (GLAD-PC): II. Treatment and ongoing management. Pediatrics 2007; 120: e1313-e1326. doi: 10.1542/peds.2006-1395.
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  • 5. Arnett JJ. Adolescence and emerging adulthood: a cultural approach. 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2009.
  • 6. McGorry PD, Purcell R, Hickie IB, Jorm AF. Investing in youth mental health is a best buy. Med J Aust 2007; 187 (7 Suppl): S5-S7. <MJA full text>
  • 7. Hickie IB, Luscombe GM, Davenport TA, et al. Perspectives of young people on depression: experiences, attitudes and treatment preferences. Early Interv Psychiatry 2007; 1: 333-339.
  • 8. Hickie IB, Fogarty AS, Davenport TA, et al. Responding to experiences of young people with common mental health problems attending Australian general practice. Med J Aust 2007; 187 (7 Suppl): S47-S52. <MJA full text>
  • 9. Scott E, Naismith S, Whitwell B, et al. Delivering youth-specific mental health services: the advantages of a collaborative multi-disciplinary system. Australas Psychiatry 2009; 17: 189-194.
  • 10. Neil AL, Christensen H. Efficacy and effectiveness of school-based prevention and early intervention programs for anxiety. Clin Psychol Rev 2009; 29: 208-215.
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  • 12. Kendler KS, Gardner CO, Lichtenstein P. A developmental twin study of symptoms of anxiety and depression: evidence for genetic innovation and attenuation. Psychol Med 2008; 38: 1567-1575.
  • 13. Bridge JA, Iyengar S, Salary CB, et al. Clinical response and risk for reported suicidal ideation and suicide attempts in pediatric antidepressant treatment: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. JAMA 2007; 297: 1683-1696.
  • 14. Gibbons RD, Hur K, Bhaumik DK, Mann JJ. The relationship between antidepressant prescription rates and rate of early adolescent suicide. Am J Psychiatry 2006; 163: 1898-1904.
  • 15. Simon GE, Savarino J, Operskalski B, Wang PS. Suicide risk during antidepressant treatment. Am J Psychiatry 2006; 163: 41-47.
  • 16. McGorry PD, Hickie IB, Yung AR, et al. Clinical staging of psychiatric disorders: a heuristic framework for choosing earlier, safer and more effective interventions. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2006; 40: 616-622.

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