Childhood Depression Major depressive disorder, or MDD, may affect up to twenty percent of the adult population. The recognition of depression as a serious and common mental disorder has been vital in the identification and treatment of depression in adults. Leaps and bounds have been made in the field of depression research. The widespread recognition of the many possible causes of depression, including chemical imbalances with genetic or medical origins as

Classifying Disorders Disorders within the category Behavioral criteria for the category Possible causes Prevalence Anxiety disorders Some of the major forms of the disorders include social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, phobias and generalized anxiety disorder Excessive worry or anxiety and difficulty in controlling the worry. The worry is associated with at least three of the following: Lack of concentration, restlessness, fatigue, muscle tension, irritability, and sleep disturbance May be caused by challenges related to one's brain function Caused by changes

Figure 1 portrays three of the scenes 20/20 presented March 15, 2010. Figure 1: Heather, Rachel, and Unnamed Girl in 20/20 Program (adapted from Stossel, 2010). Statement of the Problem For any individual, the death of a family member, friend, parent or sibling may often be overwhelming. For adolescents, the death of person close to them may prove much more traumatic as it can disrupt adolescent development. Diana Mahoney (2008), with the

Psychology Treatment For most of U.S. history up to the time of the Community Mental Health Act of 1963, the mentally ill were generally warehoused in state and local mental institutions on a long-term basis. Most had been involuntarily committed by orders from courts or physicians, and the discharge rate was very low. Before the 1950s and 1960s, there were few effective treatments for mental illnesses like depression, anxiety disorders and

Juvenile/Child Onset Bipolar Disorder Diagnoses of bipolar disorder in childhood are rare, even among adolescent populations. One of the reasons why bipolar disorder is infrequently diagnosed is the “symptomatic overlap with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD),” (Wozniak, Biederman, Kiely, et al., 1995). Diagnoses are likely dependent on contextual variables, as the psychologist or psychiatrist has leeway when assessing the child. Research on child onset bipolar disorder has evolved, though, to offer

Counseling Therapies: Case Conceptualization Case One: CBT What Are the Specific Areas of Concern? Suicide and Stress Stress has been found to play a major role in suicide risk, mental disorders, and mood swings. Stress is one term most people use synonymously with negative experiences they get in life. Negative events in life which confer depression risks, suicide thoughts and behavior, involve interpersonal, traumatic childhood and occupational events. Trauma, mostly childhood trauma, has important