Section 2: Application of Theory and Research
The primary diagnosed psycho-social problems in the present case are Major Depressive Disorder Single Episode with Psychotic Features and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). There is a wealth of theoretical and empirical research on each of these disorders, to be discussed below. The challenge for the researcher is to narrow the discussion to the theories most relevant to the presenting case.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the Amer ican Psychiatric Association (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1994) places depression within the sphere of affective disorders that are primarily disturbances of mood; in major depression, the individ ual is deeply sad and discouraged and likely to lose
weight and energy, to have suicidal thoughts and feel ings of self-reproach (APA, 1994). A distinction is made between major depression and bipolar disorder; in the latter case, episodes of both major depression and mania are commonplace. It has been estimated that while depression in children is largely unrecognized and misunderstood by parents and professionals, as much as 10 percent of children in this country suffer some for
of depression before age 12 (Dolgan, 1990). Depression
is, in fact, so common that psychologists have described it as the "common coldö of psychopathology (Furman & Bender, 2003; Dav ison & Neale, 1990).
Furman and Bender (2003) listed a number of factors that professionals generally agree are indica tive of depression. These include the following: 1) sad, depressed mood; 2) poor appetite and weight loss or in creased appetite and weight gain; 3) sleep disturbances of several types including insomnia or a desire to sleep to excess; 4) a shift in activity level; 5) loss of interest and pleasure in usual activities; 6) loss of energy, great fatigue; 7) negative self-concept; 8) complaints or evidence of difficulty in concentrating; and 9) recurren...