Therapy for teens with depression in Newport Beach & Irvine

We understand depression as a spiral. It often begins with a stressor: a loss, a rejection, mounting pressure at school. Painful feelings follow, and the teen begins to pull back. They skip practice, stop answering texts and fall behind. Each step away removes something that used to help. The isolation then becomes its own evidence for a quiet conclusion: something is wrong with me. Over months, a teen’s world gets smaller and heavier.

Loving parents are often drawn into the spiral without realizing it. Some push harder, with talks about effort or screen time. Others give space and wait for it to pass. Both are natural responses to a teen who won’t talk. Part of our work is helping families stay close in ways that reach a withdrawn teen without adding pressure.

For more, see our article on what therapy for a depressed teenager looks like.

Is it depression, or something else?

Depression rarely travels alone. It often overlaps with anxiety, and it can be mistaken for, or can mask, ADHD or a learning difference. A teen who has quietly struggled with attention for years may stop trying and start to look depressed. A teen who seems unmotivated may be depressed, anxious, exhausted, or grieving a loss no one has connected to their mood.

When the picture is unclear, a thorough psychological evaluation gives you a clear understanding of what’s going on, a diagnosis where appropriate, and specific recommendations for home, school and treatment. When the findings support it, an evaluation can also document the need for school and exam accommodations.

What does therapy for teen depression look like?

Our work with depressed teens is integrative and depth-oriented. It unfolds over time in a steady relationship with one therapist.

Understanding what the depression is carrying

Depression is often a response to something hard to feel or say: a loss, a friendship that ended, pressure to keep performing, or a growing sense of not measuring up. Drawing on psychodynamic therapy, sessions give your teen room to talk about what’s difficult and to make sense of where the low mood comes from. In a large clinical trial with depressed adolescents, psychodynamic therapy was as effective as cognitive behavioral therapy. As that understanding grows, many teens become less harsh with themselves.

Practical steps back toward daily life

Alongside that work, we integrate cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Teens learn to notice the all-or-nothing thinking depression produces and to question it, and they rebuild sleep, routine and activity in steps that feel manageable. Small steps back toward friends and the things they used to enjoy can ease the weight in the moment. Understanding is what helps the change hold.

Safety, privacy, and how parents stay involved

Teens need a space of their own to speak openly. At the start, we agree as a family on what stays between teen and therapist and what is shared with parents, and you are always informed of anything that affects safety. If safety is a concern, we create a safety plan with you and your teen at the outset. Parents meet with us regularly to understand what their teen is going through and how to stay close without pushing. If medication may help, we coordinate with your teen’s physician or psychiatrist.

Over time, many teens find they:

• Put feelings into words instead of withdrawing or lashing out

• Treat themselves with less harshness

• Return to school, friends and activities they had pulled away from

• Have more energy and more hope about the future

• Feel more connected at home

Learn more about how we work with teenagers in therapy

Who will my teen work with?

Teens with depression are seen by one of our psychologists or therapists who specialize in adolescent mental health. Our practice is led by Dr. Aaron Montgomery, Psy.D., a licensed clinical psychologist with more than 15 years of experience with children, adolescents and their parents. We also offer therapy for children with depression.