Preschool Depression Intervention Has Long-Term Beneficial Effects

Those with remission at preadolescence have lower lifetime use of antipsychotics and intensive mental health interventions

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, July 10, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Completion of a Parent–Child Interaction Therapy-Emotion Development (PCIT-ED) intervention for preschool depression has long-term effects and is associated with reduced psychotropic and mental health service use, according to a study published online June 26 in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.

Mei Elansary, M.D., M.Phil., from the Boston University School of Medicine, and colleagues examined whether response to PCIT-ED was evident four years after treatment completion and whether those who were remitted had decreases in mental health service use and psychotropic prescriptions. Participants from a randomized controlled trial of PCIT-ED delivered during the preschool period were followed into preadolescence.

The researchers found that at preadolescence, there was a high rate of remission (57.1 percent). Relapse was predicted by posttherapy externalizing symptoms. Significantly lower rates of lifetime use of alpha-agonist, antidepressant, and atypical antipsychotic medication and lower utilization of intensive mental health interventions were seen among participants with remission at preadolescence.

“Our results offer promising evidence that PCIT-ED can reduce the risk of future mental health challenges into preadolescence,” lead author Joan L. Luby, M.D., from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, said in a statement. “Perhaps most strikingly, children who achieved remission required significantly less use of psychotropic medications and intensive mental health services, suggesting a more favorable long-term trajectory.”