Why Treatment Works: Psychological and Physiological Mechanisms in the Treatment of Pediatric Mood Disorders

This presentation highlights multiple lines of research that have begun to identify psychological, neurocognitive, and immunological mechanisms of evidence-based psychosocial treatments for pediatric mood disorders, including depression and bipolar disorder. Parent and family factors (e.g., parenting efficacy, family functioning) have been implicated as critical mechanisms in psychosocial treatment for mood disorders. In addition, individual cognitive and biological processes may serve as important mechanisms. For example, executive control is impaired in adolescent depression, compromised during social stress, and linked to immune system impairment and resilience. Furthermore, stressful conditions robustly impair working memory and cognitive flexibility. Treatment protocols with broad efficacy and effectiveness commonly utilized in clinical practice may work in part by directly or indirectly targeting critical psychosocial, cognitive, and biological targets specific to pediatric mood disorders. Understanding mechanisms of treatments enable clinicians to more easily personalize interventions and optimize treatment outcomes.

• Explain psychosocial, neurocognitive, and biological mechanisms of evidence-based psychosocial treatments for pediatric mood disorders.
• Discuss how understanding mechanisms allows for greater personalized clinical care.

Victoria Cosgrove, PhD, and Amy West, PhD