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Background: I live in South Florida, I am currently enrolled in the Psych Mental Health Practitioner Program, I am a Registered Nurse, I work in a Psychiatric Hospital.
POST # 1 AYME
Child and Adolescent Depression and Somatization Disorders.
In adolescents, the cluster of symptoms that makes up depression is considered a major risk factor for suicide, as more than half of all recorded adolescent suicide victims were suffering from demonstrable depressive disorders at the time of their suicide. Depression has also been found to lead to an increased rate of smoking, drug abuse and misuse, obesity, educational impairments, and social impairments. What could be done to implement a meaningful intervention in the lives of adolescents suffering from symptoms of depressive disorders?
Depression and other mental health disorders/conditions are a significant foundation for the development and manifestation of somatoform disorders in adolescents (Maxfield, 2020). Depressive disorders impose cognitive and functional limitations on the individual thus affecting their social development and overall growth. When depressive disorders are left to persist over a prolonged period and without effective management, the adolescent is usually at elevated risk of developing somatic symptom disorders (SSD). SSDs are conditions that even with sufficient and accurate medical diagnosis, there is no comprehensive physical pathology or pathophysiology to explain the existence of that condition (Maxfield, 2020).
Depressive disorders form a foundation for SSDs by imposing symptoms that continually subject the individual to pain, trauma, or suffering (Maxfield, 2020). Gradually, the individual develops a significant level of obsession with the pain, trauma, or suffering such that even with a minimal trigger of the symptoms, the compensatory behaviors are more harmful. Such compensatory behaviors include drug and substance abuse, suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, social isolation. The outcomes from these behaviors may range from obesity, poor academic performance, social impairment, and addiction. In adolescents, the best strategy is to introduce interventions at the earliest stages when the disorder is detected. Such strategies are focused on preventing the progression to severity including the potential manifestation of SSDs (Maxfield, 2020). Parents and the family play a key role in the implementation of effective strategies.
The adolescent phase of life is characterized by uncertainty especially due to fears of transition to adulthood as well as academic pressure within a lifestyle of semi-independence. The parents/family can identify potential leads such as a decline in academic performance and social isolation to determine the likelihood of depressive disorders (Grover & Avasthi, 2019). When such leads are positive, the parents/family should seek to engage the individual and demonstrate more affection. Affection increases the quality of communication thus allowing the adolescent to open up and share their concerns. Such communication helps in identifying the triggers in the adolescent’s life and thus collaborating in solving such triggers (McGorry & Mei, 2018).
The second intervention is to introduce the adolescent to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). The significance of CBT is to train the individual to adapt to the triggers with the specific goal of ensuring that negative behaviors are replaced by positive behaviors. CBT is usually a progressive and slow therapy that involves training the individual on the identification of the triggers around them and designing methods for coping with those triggers. The CBT process prepares the individual to take control of their lives and situations even amidst the emergence of triggers. Another intervention is to reintroduce the adolescent to the things/activities that were previously interesting to them including exercise, games, music, and socialization (Schleider & Weisz, 2017). The idea of this reintroduction is to help the individual resolve negative behaviors such as social isolation that tend to trigger other negative symptoms. The reintroduction also allows the individual to reestablish their social life and find associations with whom they can share concerns and help in coping.
Medication is also a viable intervention, especially with sufficient diagnosis. The goal of medication for depressive disorders is to control the debilitating factors that trigger the manifestation of negative behaviors. When debilitating factors are controlled, the individual is afforded a significant advantage in controlling the situation, reducing the occurrence of negative behaviors, and seeking immediate resolution of the situation. The advantage of medication as an intervention is that it can be used alongside other interventions such as CBT while gradually lowering the dosage as CBT becomes more effective. The dosage regulation is accomplished under clinical management (Children’s Hospital New Orleans, 2020).
References
Children’s Hospital New Orleans. (2020). Depression and Suicide in Children and Adolescents: What Parents and Teachers Need to Know. YouTube.
McGorry, P. D., & Mei, C. (2018). Early intervention in youth mental health: progress and future directions. Evidence-based mental health, 21(4), 182-184.
Schleider, J. L., & Weisz, J. R. (2017). Little treatments, promising effects? Meta-analysis of single-session interventions for youth psychiatric problems. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(2), 107-115.