This research reviews the literature on depression in children and discusses theories, assessment tools, treatment and implications for therapists. Often when a child is depressed the detection of the actual depression can trigger investigation into aspects of a child's life. Frequently what is discovered is that the depressed child surfaces as a child in crisis who may be suffering from mental, physical or sexual abuse prevalent in his home environment. Depression can also be triggered by a chemical imbalance within the brain or by a child's inability to communicate what is troubling him. Detecting depression in a child offers the caretakers a chance to intervene and hopefully remedy the situation. Ascertaining depression in the child offers an opportunity to step in and avert potential disasters awaiting the child if his condition worsened, remaining unnoticed and untreated. Since depression interferes with all aspects of a child's developmental process, it surfaces as a threat not only to present happiness but also to an adequate maturation process.
Depression is frequently cited as one of the most common emotional disorders. Statistics attest that during any six-month period 20 percent of the adult population suffer from some form of emotional disorder (Ingersoll, 1995, p. 2). Since childhood has been so frequently celebrated as a period of bliss by poets and other writers, only recently have psychiatrists and social workers begun to address both the reality and frequency of child depression. Recent research indicates that children may actually suffer a higher rate of emotional disorders than their adult counterparts. Significantly, childhood depression could not be officially diagnosed until 1980. Not until this relatively late date did the American Psychiatric Association include it among the official categories for diagnosis in their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) (Ingersoll, 1995, p....