Adolescent depression: meeting therapeutic challenges through an integrated narrative approach.

Topic: The adolescent period is a time of transition and change often associated with losses and adjustment issues at the family, school, and individual levels. When this normal developmental transition is interrupted and compounded by depressive illness, treatment needs and nursing therapeutic challenges can be daunting.

Purpose: This clinically based article explores the clinical process and progress in work with a 14-year-old adolescent boy who was diagnosed with a major depressive episode.