Submit Manuscript | http://medcraveonline.com Background Depression is one of the major problems that affect the mental health of adolescents. Approximately 2-5% of adolescents meet the diagnostic criteria for major depression at a given point of time, with around 10% experiencing a depressive disorder by age 16. 1 In the Sultanate of Oman, adolescents account for 18.69% of the population. 2 Available studies show that the prevalence of anxiety and depressive disorders among adolescents in secondary schools was high in Oman, comparable to rates reported among cross-national adults. In Oman, the fndings about major depressive disorders were equally divided between serious and moderate severity and that 57% of the bipolar categories found were serious. 3 These fndings are considered to be alarming for Oman. A school based survey among Omani adolescents and youth estimated the prevalence of depressive symptoms at 17%, the life-time prevalence of Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) at 3%, and Bipolar Mood Disorder (BMD) at 1%. 4 Al-Busaidi et al. 5 reported that 27.7% of University students had depression. 5 In Oman, the risk factors for depression among adolescents included a history of mental illness, high score in negative health locus of control, low score in positive health locus of control, not taking breakfast, poor relationship with family members, friends and teachers and physical abuse during adolescence. 6 Female gender was ascertained as a strong predictor of major depressive disorder. 4 Untreated depression among adolescents leads to behavioral problems such as irritability or moodiness, fghting, defance, skipping school, running away, and sexual experimentation, 7 and a range of mental health disorders, particularly anxiety disorders, substance abuse disorders, and bipolar disorders. 8 Suicide is a common consequence of depression in adolescents, and accounts for the second leading cause of death in the developed world. 9 Thus the period of adolescence is the phase in which a person is comprehensively molded to face the battles of their future. This challenging phase of life can cause an individual to slide into the depressive mood, if and when their path to success is inhibited or intimidated. Uncomplicated mild depression is often treated with psychosocial intervention and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Moderate and severe depression requires CBT and fuoxetine, along with specialist child and adolescent mental health services, 10 Among Arab Muslim population, the barriers to seeking treatment for mental health problems include; the stigma associated with mental health problems, underreporting of mental disorders, lack of awareness about mental health, unspecialized health care provider, traditional cultural beliefs and complementary or alternative forms of treatment. 11 In Oman a study of secondary school going adolescents and youths with DSM IV disorders showed a remarkably low treatment contact for any anxiety disorder (5.2%) and for any mood disorder category (3.2%). 3 An alternate to alleviate diminished utilization of health services is School Based Interventions (SBI). A systematic review of the articles published between 1993 and 2015, on school-based intervention and child mental health concluded that, effective SBIs are benefcial if they are implemented based on evidence based cognitive-behavioral interventions. 12 SBI to reduce or prevent depression has three approaches. The ‘universal approach’ is offered to all students, with an aim to prevent emergence of new cases or to help children with depressive symptoms. The ‘targeted approach’ are directed to children at high risk for developing depression or for children with sub-clinical signs of depression. The ‘clinical approach’ is advocated for children with morbid levels of depression. 13,14 J Psychol Clin Psychiatry. 2018;9(6):694‒699. 694 ©2018 Abraham et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and build upon your work non-commercially. Empirical directives in defeating adolescent depression in Oman: a systematic review Volume 9 Issue 6 - 2018 Joshy Abraham, 1 Jaimy Scaria 2 1 MSN, Muscat, Oman 2 Clinical Instructor, AFMS, Oman Correspondence: Joshy Abraham, MSN, Muscat, Oman, Tel 0096898137831, Email Received: November 10, 2018 | Published: December 12, 2018 Abstract Introduction: Depression is one of the major problems that affect the mental health of adolescents. In the Sultanate of Oman, adolescents account for 18.69% of the population. Untreated depression among adolescents leads behavioral deviations, increased tendency towards substance abuse, and suicidal tendencies. The low trends in seeking treatment for depressive disorders in the country, prompts the need for School Based Interventions (SBI) to identify and eradicate the problem at its roots. Methods: Electronic searches from CINAHL, Medline, Scopus, Science direct, Springer link, and Up to date to retrieve evidence based literature on school based interventions among children and adolescents with depression was conducted. The Methodological quality of the studies chosen was ranked utilizing the rating system for hierarchy of evidence: quantitative questions. A total of 9 journal articles were included in the review. Results: Four major themes were crystallized from the systematic review: approaches to SBI, ingredients of SBI; outcomes of SBI, and future directive for SBI. The reviewed literature was itself to be incorporated within the contexts of the Beyond Blue Conceptual Framework (BBCF), which will guide future researchers to implement empirically sound school based interventions. Conclusion: The need for schools to incorporate a well-structured comprehensive depression preventive program is the ultimate recommendation of this empirical venture. The outcomes achieved by the various fragments of interventions serves as the forecasted benefits to fight against the disastrous and disabling depression among school children. Journal of Psychology & Clinical Psychiatry Research Article Open Access