| Background The detection rate of depressive symptoms in children and adolescents is increasing year by year, and relaxation therapy has played a unique advantage as a psychotherapy, but there is limited research on relaxation therapy combined with sertraline in the treatment of depressive episodes in children and adolescents. Objective To explore the effect of relaxation therapy combined with sertraline on the first depressive episode in children and adolescents, and to provide a reference for the treatment of depressive episodes in children and adolescents. Methods From January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020, 422 children and adolescents with first-episode depressive episodes who met the diagnostic criteria of the International Classification of Diseases, tenth edition (ICD-10) were selected as the study subjects. The study group (n=208) and the control group (n=214) were divided into the study group and the control group by random number table method. Patients in both groups were treated with sertraline, and the study group received relaxation therapy for 25~30 min for two weeks, five days a week, 10 days each time, once a day. The Hamilton Depression Scale 24-item (HAMD-24) and the Hamilton Anxiety Inventory (HAMA) were used before hospitalization, at the end of the second day of treatment, and at the end of the second day of discharge, respectively. Results A total of 369 patients completed this study, including 185 (50.15%) in the study group and 184 (49.86%) in the control group. There were statistically significant temporal effects, group effects, and time-group interaction effects of HAMD-24 total scores in the two groups（F=813.279, 17.625, 8 994.905, P<0.01）. There were statistically significant temporal effects, group effects, and time-group interaction effects of HAMA total scores in the two groups（F=635.041, 10.716, 13 945.986, P<0.01）. Compared with before treatment, the study group had lower HAMD-24 and HAMA scores at the end of the second week of treatment and the end of the second week of discharge（t=0.924, 0.359, P<0.01）. At the end of the second day of discharge, the HAMD-24 and HAMA scores in the study group were lower than those in the control group（t=0.210, 0.720，P<0.05）. At the end of the second week of treatment, the total effective rate of the study group was higher than that of the control group in terms of improvement of depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms（95.14% vs. 66.30%, 89.18% vs. 71.74%，χ2=78.942, 22.526, P<0.05）. At the end of the second day of discharge, there was no significant difference in efficacy between the two groups（P>0.05）. There were no significant differences in the rates of dry mouth, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, decreased appetite, insomnia/drowsiness, dizziness/headache and total adverse reactions between the two groups（χ2=0.552、0.009、0.100、0、0.177、0、0.205、0.173，P>0.05）. Conclusion Compared with sertraline alone，relaxation therapy combined with sertraline may have a better short-term effect on children and adolescents with depressive disorder. |