The last 12 months have witnessed radical changes and considerable controversy regarding how childhood and teenage depression is treated. Although few antidepressant drugs have been licensed for pediatric use, rates of prescribing in the under-18 age group have risen by around 60% over the past decade, with over a million children and adolescents receiving what are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s).
在过去的一年中，儿童及青少年抑郁症的治疗方案发生了彻底的变化，同时也引起了诸多争议。尽管目前为止几乎没有一种抗抑郁药获准用于治疗儿童抑郁患者，但十年以来，18岁以下人群使用抗抑郁类药的人数增加了60%，与此同时，还有超过一百万的儿童和未成年人正在使用一种叫做复合胺再摄取抑制剂(SSRI’s)的药物。