Childhood Depression Therapy

Depression in children has only started to be taken seriously in the past two decades. A child who is depressed may fake sickness, not want to go to school, or be overly attached to their parent. Older children may mope around, cause problems at school, have a negative attitude, and feel misunderstood in general. Because of the normal varying behaviors of childhood, it is often difficult for a parent to tell whether their child is just going through "phase" or is actually suffering from depression. Some mental health specialists say the number of childhood depression cases is increasing, and children younger and younger are being diagnosed. “I've even seen children as young as 3 years old with depression,” says Lois Flaherty, a child and adolescent

"Many psychiatrists worry that non-specialists may be administering the drugs without referring the children for psychotherapy, which they say should be an integral part of drug therapy" (CQ Researcher). This can lead to many consequences, such as insomnia and even suicidal thoughts. Since children are involuntary patients, the government needs to take special precautions to insure that their safety is of the upmost importance. Law should require doctors to enroll their patients in cognitive behavior therapy before they are able to prescribe children antidepressant medications. Antidepressant medication should be treated as a last resort, if all other options

American Family Physician states that, "Antidepressant discontinuation syndrome occurs in approximately 20 percent of patients after abrupt discontinuation of an antidepressant medication that was taken for at least six weeks" (Warner et. al). As bad as antidepressant discontinuation syndrome is, it is not the only withdrawal symptom caused by antidepressants. Kimberly Holland stated that the "drop of your medicine may also worsen your depression, send your symptoms on a downward spiral, and set your treatment back several weeks or months" (The Dangers of Abruptly Stopping Antidepressants). This is very dangerous, and the child may afflict harm to themselves or others during this time