Depression in Children & Implications for Therapists
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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 addre
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ng or indifference at this stage.
As psychological research becomes more sophisticated in both its scope and focus, the results show that a child may not suffer from the actual point of trauma as much as the confluence of events and factors surrounding it. For instance, almost all children who have been sexually abused experience psychological repercussions of that trauma. However, research indicates that the severity of the response can be deeply affected by the diversity of such elements as the extent of the abuse, the child's relationship with the abuser, and the manner in which the parents and other caretakers respond to this trauma (Ingersoll, 1995, p. 71). Similarly, children whose parents become divorced may actually be more traumatized by the conflict preceding the breakup or their changes in circumstance following the split--changes in residence, school and family income--than the actual divorce itself (Harrington as cited in Ingersoll, 1995, p. 71). Research done by Compas suggests that sometimes a child's depressive episode can be triggered by a series of minor stressful events following a major trauma which has never been fully confronted. Parents and counselors may find his observations useful when watching a
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Some common words found in the essay are:
DSM IV, Research Compas, Zoloft Lithium, Hilsman Gabr, Depression Children, Disorder Ingersoll, Sigmund Freud, Inventory CDI, Rating Scale, Relationship Therapy, ingersoll 1995, depression children, herskowitz 1988, depressed children, children ingersoll 1995, symptoms depression, 1995 pp, cited ingersoll, doyle 1986, children ingersoll, children's depression, cited ingersoll 1995, american psychiatric association, ingersoll 1995 pp, herskowitz 1988 pp,
Approximate Word count = 3980
Approximate Pages = 16 (250 words per page)
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