This paper presents a program design for the treatment of depression and learned helplessness. The population being served by this program are Cuban adolescent refugees who have recently arrived in the United States and exhibit symptoms of depression and learned helplessness as a result of pre- and post-emigration factors. A literature review provides information pertaining to the etiology, prevalence, and clinical features of adolescent depression. It offers an overview of depression in adolescent refugees and explains the conditions characterizing children and adolescents’ lives in Cuba, their traumatic experiences, and the concept of acculturative stress. The literature review also highlights the main postulates of the Learned Helplessness theory and the Positive Pyschology Movement and discussess the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy and group and interpersonal psychotherapy in treating adolescent depression. An overview of the program is offered which includes information pertaining to the physical setting, staffing, admission and inclusion criteria, program funding and budget, therapeutic interventions, and program evalution. The theoretical basis of learned optimism and a positive explanatory style upon which the program’s philosophy is built is also explained. (Description from source)
