Depression – Treatment Approaches For Children And Teenagers

Having a child or teenager that has depression is stressful for and impacts the whole family. [It is therefore important that everyone is included in the healing journey that needs to happen].

General practitioner (GP)

If you are suspecting depression in your child, visit your GP and tell them what’s going on, what you observe and what you suspect. He or she will most likely want to talk to your child or teenager and ask them questions to rule out any other physical challenges that they might be facing, for example conditions involving the thyroid, which show similar symptoms. ~mengandung

Make sure that your child or teenager trusts the GP, otherwise the answers to the questions might not be accurate enough to clarify the issue.

[As a result of this, he might suggest medication (antidepressants) or refer you to a psychiatrist, psychologist or other therapist dealing with depression, depending on what suits your child most].

Medication

Medication should not be the first treatment option, however it can be extremely helpful and life saving for those who express suicidal thoughts and tendencies. [There is still a lot of work and research that needs to be done in the area of childhood depression to fully understand the efficacy of medication]. ~tips mengandung

Individual therapy

Individual therapy for the child is essential. There are different approaches that a therapist may use:

Psychodynamic psychotherapy: This form of therapy is often more effective with children than with adults. [Play therapy, drawing, fantasy play etc]. [enable a trained and skilled therapist to communicate on a deep level, especially with younger children].

[Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT): This form of therapy identifies negative thinking patterns and the behavior that contributes to those patterns]. In therapy the children and teenagers learn to see things from a different perspective and learn tools and techniques to deal with their emotions and communicate them effectively.

[There are other forms of therapies that your therapist may use, the most important factor is that your child feels supported by what's happening and that they come out of therapy feeling better].

Family therapy

As mentioned above, all family members are involved on some level in the situation present. There will be relationship issues and communication challenges (like in any family) which are more difficult to handle for a depressed child or teenager. [Family therapy can help by finding better ways to communicate and supporting parents in their parenting skills]. ~kelahiran

Hospitalization

The child or teenager may need to be hospitalized in a very extreme case. [It is seldom suggested, but in case of a risk of suicide, this might be a worthwhile option to consider]..