Childhood Mental Depression

You have a child who in class usually participates well and is happy, very outgoing and confident but one day they come into class looking sad and is very quiet.

As children all develop at different speeds, a child that struggles at school and has not been identified as having any specific special needs, could suffer from depression thus affecting the child’s development.

To fully understand the effects of antidepressants on children and adolescents, proper experimentation must be conducted, which could prove challenging as to the span of years and test subjects involved in these cases. Meanwhile, some mental health professionals assert that the use of antidepressants in children may well avert the brain from developing patterns of depression as an adult, and points to studies presenting the advantages which can offset the hazards in implementing such drugs. Depression is ominous and foreboding for those who suffer with this malady; professionals contend that the vast “impact of depression is greater than the impact of the

Depression is defined as a mental illness in which a person is experiencing deep sadness and loneliness. It is known as one of the most common mental illnesses and it affects all kinds of people, regardless of sex, age and religion. Many people are not aware that depression is not only diagnosed in adults, but in children and adolescents as well. Therefore, there is a debate about whether children suffering from depression should be allowed to take antidepressants. Antidepressant drugs should be prescribed for children suffering from depression under the conditions of doctors limiting the medication, including therapy and having the parents informed/educated.

Either way, starting school is a huge transition in a Childs life. There are many new changes in their daily routine that they have to adapt to, such as mixing with a larger group of children, many of whom they won’t have met before. They will be expected to be more independent and do things for themselves, which can worry some children. Emotionally, not all children cope very well with the transition. I remember child K being very upset and anxious about being left in the mornings and would cling frantically to their parent to prevent them for leaving. Every morning they would have to be taken by the teacher to go and help with something so the parent could leave. The child would usually settle down and be fine for the rest of the day until home time, when they would cry again when they saw their parent. This continued on and off for the whole of the reception year. Tiredness is another factor that causes children to seem emotionally distraught. Having to cope with full days at school, and the amount of concentration that they have to give is a lot for some children, and they tend to act up, having temper outbursts and emotional upsets. They can start arguing with their friends and refuse to do activities just because they are tired and it all seems too much. By the end of their first year, most children are usually quite happy and confident and ready to move to their new class.

As in adults, depression in children and adolescents is treatable. Certain antidepressant medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can be beneficial to children and adolescents with MDD. Certain psychotherapy modules also have been shown to be effective. However, our awareness of antidepressant treatments in children and adolescents, though growing substantially, is incomplete compared to our knowledge about treating depression in adults.

This paper discusses various published articles and literature that report on results from research conducted on the effectiveness of various approaches in treating childhood depression. The articles vary in their topics and strategies. This paper will examine each article and focus on treatments that have been proven to improve the symptoms of childhood depression.

The assigned article for this week was ‘Can Preschoolers Be Depressed?’ by Pamela Paulaug. As the title told, the article was about young children, such as preschoolers’ depression. The article can be mainly broken into three big chunks: there was a boy named Kiran and his case was introduced as an example; controversy over preschoolers’ depression among psychologists, psychiatrists, and researchers; its best treatment for young children so far known.

The controversy over the use of antidepressants in the treatment of children has received a large amount of attention in the past years. Everyone has his or her own opinion of antidepressants and how they work, but no one takes time to research the claims of the treatments. Antidepressants are medications to treat depression in children, teens, and adults. The dosage given should vary on the level of depression and the age of the patient. The side effects also vary depending on the patient. One source states that, “teenagers on antidepressants should be monitored for any sign that the depression is getting worse” (HelpGuide.Org). Many teens are depressed from causes of neglect. Some may feel that their parents are not around as much as they should be. Depressed teens should be watched closely and if the parent or parents are not available to keep a close look the outcome of the teen may be in danger. If a parent pays more attention to their child, then they could intervene before the depression worsens. There is a possibility of prevention of the

Today schools are taking a much more effective role in detection of depression in the younger generations. Because school is like work for adults and is where children spend most of their days, I thought it would be appropriate to discuss a model developed by Urie Bronfenbrenner and Morris in 1979, which addresses the totality of the child’s life up to the present moment. This model gave school counselors a tool to work from while assessing the children. This model puts every aspect of the disorder on a continuum that professionals can use as a guide during questioning and diagnosis. Due to the fact that depression is hard to detect in young children, this process allows the counselor to see all symptoms present even if they don’t fit the DSM IV criteria to comprise a diagnosis. The Ecological Model takes a look at the child as a whole. This includes, home,

Depression can be cause if child feels rejected by peers or have problems with sexual identity.

Depression in children stem from a variety of factors relating to health, history, life events, genetic vulnerabilities, family history, and biochemical imbalances. Every individual shows different symptoms when suffering from depression; however, these symptoms interfere with the child’s daily living at school and home. Psychotherapy and medication are the most common treatments for children with depression (Depression in

Depression is the most common mental disorder, not only for adults, but for children and teenagers as well. The DSM-IV classifies depression as a mood disorder. It states that an individual has suffered a “major depressive episode” if certain symptoms persist for at least two weeks, including a loss of enjoyment in previously pleasurable activities, a sad or irritable mood, a significant change in weight or appetite, problems sleeping or concentrating, and feelings of worthlessness. These symptoms of depression fall into four categories: mood, cognitive, behavioral, and physical. Depression affects how individuals feel, think, behave, and how their bodies work. People with depression may experience symptoms in any or all of the

Assessment for depression include gathering information from Child parents School and assessing functioning all areas of child life clinical manifestation in children in clothes off irritability somatic complaints behavior problems separation anxiety ability and boredom adelaide simkin present with irritability so some of the typical symptoms some of the

People used to believe that children had no reason to be depressed it wasn’t till a few years ago: “No one thought that children could suffer from real depression; there wasn’t even an official diagnosis for childhood depression until 1980” (Fassler 4). But really who would have thought that such a thing could be possible. Sadly today we know that it’s a real disease and it affects more adolescents than we think: “ The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that as many as 2.5 percent of all American youngsters under the age of eighteen or over 1.5 million children and adolescents are seriously depressed” (Fassler 2).