Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

With the annual cost of mental illness in Australia estimated to be in excess of 20 billion dollars (Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2013), and knowing that many of the behavioral and psychological precursors to poor health in adulthood have their origins in adolescence (Viner 2005), there is a need to establish robust health behaviors and adaptive psychological skills and flexibilities in adolescents. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an efficacious and empirically sound group of therapeutic techniques that addresses unhelpful thought and behavioral patterns to increase functionality and reduce the immense multifaceted impact that untreated mental illness has globally. However, its effectiveness in adolescent populations is less clear. With over 20% of young Australians (15–19 years) suggested to meet the criteria for having a probable mental illness and 60% of these reporting to be uncomfortable in seeking help or advice for mental illness (Ivancic et al. 2014), an examination of the framework, location, intensity, delivery platform, and participating stakeholders of CBT targeting adolescents is overdue. To that end, following a definition of CBT, relevant developmental considerations and a review of its effectiveness in an adolescent population, the authors suggest a review of the way CBT is framed, where it is administered, and how it is targeted, delivered, and designed has significant potential to prevent the onset and/or lessen the impact of mental illness and reduce the significant economic and health burden that is associated.