Table Of ContentTreaTing DepresseD
anD suiciDal aDolescenTs
TreaTing
DepresseD
anD suiciDal
aDolescenTs
A CliniCiAn’s Guide
DaviD a. Brent
KimBerly D. Poling
tina r. golDstein
THe guilForD press
new York london
© 2011 The Guilford Press
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in- Publication Data
Brent, David A.
Treating depressed and suicidal adolescents: a clinician’s guide / David A. Brent,
Kimberly D. Poling, and Tina R. Goldstein.
p. ; cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-60623-957-5 (hardcover: alk. paper)
1. Depression in adolescence—Treatment. 2. Adolescent psychotherapy.
3. Teenagers—Suicidal behavior. I. Poling, Kimberly D. II. Goldstein, Tina R.
III. Title.
[DNLM: 1. Depressive Disorder—psychology. 2. Depressive Disorder—
therapy. 3. Adolescent Behavior—psychology. 4. Adolescent Psychology.
5. Suicide—prevention & control. 6. Suicide—psychology. WM 171]
RJ506.D4B74 2011
616.85′2700835—dc22
2010028727
Whoever destroys a single life,
it is as if he destroyed an entire world.
And whoever saves a single life,
it is as if he saved an entire world,
because each person is a unique creation.
Therefore every single person is obligated to say,
“The world was created for me.”
(Paraphrased from Mishna Sanhedrin 4:5)
about the authors
David A. Brent, MD, is Academic Chief of Child and Adolescent Psy-
chiatry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and holds
an Endowed Chair in Suicide Studies. He is Director of Services for
Teens at Risk (STAR-Center), a clinical service for depressed and sui-
cidal teens. Dr. Brent has conducted some of the most important work
on the risk factors for depression and suicidal behavior in adolescents,
and has successfully translated that work into the development and test-
ing of effective pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions
for depressed and suicidal adolescents. He has received wide recogni-
tion for his contributions on the assessment and treatment of depressed
and suicidal adolescents, including research awards from the American
Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the American Association of Sui-
cidology, the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and
Depression, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry,
and the American Psychiatric Association.
Kimberly D. Poling, LCSW, is Clinical Program Manager at the STAR-
Center, which she initially joined as a therapist in 1987. She has been
involved in developing and implementing treatment protocols, training,
and supervising cognitive therapists, both in Pittsburgh and throughout
the country, and is an expert in the areas of cognitive therapy, diag-
nostic assessment, and suicide risk assessment. She has also served as a
faculty member at the Center for Cognitive Therapy at the University
vii
viii About the Authors
of Pittsburgh Medical Center and in the Department of Psychology and
Education of the University of Pittsburgh.
Tina R. Goldstein, PhD, a clinical psychologist, is Assistant Professor in
the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of
Pittsburgh School of Medicine. Her clinical and research interests focus
on the development and testing of psychosocial interventions for chil-
dren and adolescents with and at risk for mood disorders, as well as the
prevention and treatment of suicidal behavior in youth. Dr. Goldstein
is the recipient of multiple foundation and federal grants for which she
conducts, trains, and supervises psychosocial treatment protocols for
youth. She has expertise in cognitive- behavioral therapy and dialectical
behavior therapy.
acknowledgments
We gratefully acknowledge all those who have had a critical role in help-
ing us find our way.
First, we are indebted to Dr. Aaron Beck, the founder of cognitive-
behavioral therapy (CBT), for providing the foundation for the treat-
ment we have developed. Dr. Robert Berchick and, more recently, Dr.
Greg Brown have further helped hone our thinking on the application
of CBT for suicidal teens.
We appreciate the commitment of all of the Services for Teens At
Risk (STAR-Center) faculty and staff, too numerous to list. Several core
clinicians at the STAR-Center provided critical contributions to the
development of the treatment approach we describe herein:
Boris Birmaher, MD
Charles Bonner, PhD
Mary Beth Boylan, PhD
Maureen Maher- Bridge, LCSW
Charles Goldstein, LCSW
Mary Margaret Kerr, EdD
Brian McKain, MSN
Grace Moritz, LCSW
Mary Wartella, LCSW
Susan Wesner, MSN
ix
