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Health and Medical Research Council Clinical practice guidelines: depression in young people were produced in 1997 and rescinded in 2004, and a variety of other international perspectives are now available.2,3
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- 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).
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beyondblue have funded previous and current research at ORYGEN Youth Health.
We are members of the Board of headspace. Ian Hickie is a member of the National Advisory Council on Mental Health.