Teen Depression Treatment in the Denver Metro

If your teen is in crisis or you're worried about their immediate safety, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) any time, or go to the nearest emergency room. This page is for treatment planning, not emergencies.

For the parent reading this at midnight

If you're here, something has probably changed: grades sliding, the bedroom door always closed, a kid who used to laugh easily and doesn't anymore — or words that scared you. Depression in teenagers is real, common, and treatable, and getting a proper evaluation is the single most useful step a parent can take. Not a guess, not a wait-and-see, not a first prescription from a rushed visit — an actual psychiatric evaluation by a physician-led team that treats adolescents.

How we care for teens

Psychiatric evaluation. Teen depression rarely looks like adult depression — irritability, anger, sleep chaos, and school refusal show up as often as visible sadness, and anxiety usually tags along. Our evaluation takes the time to map what's actually happening, with the teen and with you, and produces a plan you both understand.

Medication management, carefully. When medication is appropriate for an adolescent, "carefully" is the whole point: conservative selection, patient dosing, close follow-up, and honest conversation with parents about what to watch for — including the heightened monitoring that antidepressant treatment in young people calls for. Medication is a decision made with families here, never a reflex.

TMS therapy — FDA-cleared for ages 15–21. This clearance is recent enough that most families have never heard of it: TMS, the non-medication depression treatment adults have used for years, now carries FDA clearance for adolescent depression in patients ages 15 to 21. For a teenager whose depression hasn't responded to medication — or a family with strong reasons to want a non-medication path — that's a genuinely important option: brief sessions of focused magnetic pulses, no sedation, no systemic medication effects, and school and activities continue throughout the course.

Therapy, coordinated. Talk therapy remains central to adolescent depression care. We're the medical side — evaluation, medication, TMS — and we coordinate with your teen's therapist, or help you find one, so the pieces work together.

What parents ask us first

Whether their child is "bad enough" to need this (if you're asking, an evaluation is warranted — that's what it's for). Whether medication is mandatory (no — evaluation determines options, and non-medication paths exist). Whether they'll be included (yes — parents are part of adolescent care here, with age-appropriate respect for the teen's voice). And whether insurance covers it (most major plans cover adolescent psychiatric evaluation and treatment; our team verifies your benefits before anything begins).

A free consultation is a low-pressure way to talk through your situation with our team and decide on next steps: 720-500-7873. Serving families across Denver, Aurora, and the Front Range.

Frequently asked questions