Despite signs of increasing agreement among mental health professionals, controversy continues over developmental, diagnostic, and intervention issues surrounding childhood depression. This introductory text is written for practitioners as well as for advanced undergraduates or graduate students who are preparing to become psychologists, social workers, counselors, or special education teachers working with affectively disturbed children and youth. No attempt is made to present a consistent theoretical framework. Instead, the book concentrates on those viewpoints currently popular among mental-health specialists. Although the text addresses the influence of biological and social forces on affective disorders, the emphasis is on psychological factors thought to be operative in depression and suicide among young people. The book's most distinctive features include its research base, its developmental orientation, and its emphasis on the practitioner. Other important aspects of the book include: some research positions on childhood depression; information on the development of this illness; guidelines for diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of childhood depression; and a separate chapter dealing with suicide in school-aged youth. Each chapter contains a summary of its content and a list of references. Twenty-seven tables present diagnostic criteria, depression checklists, therapeutic approaches, strategies for dealing with suicidal youth, and other information. (RJM)

Although research on the diagnosis and treatment of depression in children and adolescents has lagged far behind that in adults, recent large-scale studies -- armed with operationalized criteria and validated assessment instruments -- have done much to close this gap. In The Many Faces of Depression in Children and Adolescents, Drs. Shaffer and Waslick lead a distinguished group of contributors in presenting an overview of the key findings and concepts emerging from recent empirical efforts to understand the cause of depressive illness in youth. Featured are the following: Current findings regarding the epidemiology, diagnosis, and treatment of depression in childhood and adolescence Results of major clinical trials evaluating outpatient psychotherapeutic interventions for depressed and suicidal children and adolescents (e.g., cognitive-behavior therapy and interpersonal psychotherapy for depressed children and adolescents; dialectical behavior therapy for suicidal youth) State-of-the-art principles of pharmacotherapy for acute, continuation, and maintenance treatment phases of major depressive disorder in children and adolescents Dilemmas and challenges related to the diagnosis of bipolar disorder in children Current knowledge regarding the epidemiology and clinical manifestations of -- and the etiological risk factors for -- suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and completed suicide Developments in the emerging field of youth suicide prevention An invaluable compendium of current thought on a disorder whose potential consequences can be nothing short of devastating, this volume belongs on the bookshelf of every clinician who treats children and adolescents.

This book is a practical and authoritative guide to diagnosis and treatment of child and adolescent depression in various clinical settings, health care systems, and cultures. Emphasis is placed on evidence-based precepts for treatment. The contributors address current controversies surrounding the potential risks of medications in children and discuss other biological treatments and psychotherapies. Key take-home points are listed at the end of each chapter. Flow charts and tables summarize treatment recommendations, and tables summarize evidence of effectiveness and quality of evidence. Also included are lists of other resources for clinicians, patients, and families.

Anyone who has ever been close to a seriously depressed child has undoubtedly been affected by the youngster's vulnerability, misery, and pain. Indeed, it is much like caring for a child who is in physical pain. For the child in the depths of depression, no activity is fun, nothing can be enjoyed, and no one can provide enough consolation or comfort. At times, the youngster may cry or whimper. There may be fits of defiance or rage and sometimes withdrawal into a numb, sullen silence. A child in this state tries the patience of parents and siblings. Remedies of every sort are tried, including gifts, punishments, bribes, lectures, pleading, and a host of others. Such efforts occasionally provide temporary relief, but more often they seem to make matters worse. Commonly, there is an emotional wall of anger and frustration between a depressed child and other fumily members that may inevitably lead to further isolation and withdrawal. If too much time passes without their being helped, many depressed children and adolescents come to believe that suicide offers the only real relief for their pain. Currently, there is a Depression Awareness Week that includes free screening at participating health and mental health settings around the United States and is designed to identify depression in adults, suggesting that society's awareness of depression and psychiatric disorders is focused to a large extent on adults.

Evidence-Based CBT for Anxiety and Depression in Children and Adolescents “This should be on the bookshelf of everyone treating anxious and depressed children and adolescents. A cornucopia of theory and clinical good sense alike. I will be making sure that my trainees read it cover to cover.” Dr Samantha Cartwright-Hatton, Senior Clinical Research Fellow in Psychology, University of Sussex This is the first book to offer an explicitly competencies-based approach to the cognitive behavioral treatment of anxiety and depression in children and adolescents. Within it, an outstanding and influential set of experts in the field describe a comprehensive model of therapist competencies required for empirically supported cognitive behavioral treatment. They explore each of these competencies in great detail, and highlight effective ways of training them. As a result, the book not only supports the training, development, and assessment of competent clinicians who are implementing CBT, it is also invaluable for clinicians who wish to gain an understanding of the competencies they need to acquire or improve, and offers guidelines for how to achieve these, providing a benchmark against which they can assess themselves. Evidence-Based CBT for Anxiety and Depression in Children and Adolescents works to improve the quality of therapists working in this area, and, as a result, the quality of treatment that many young people receive.

This volume addresses the assessment of the most commonly encountered disorders or conditions among children, adolescents, adults, older adults, and couples. Strategies and instruments for assessing mood disorders, anxiety and related disorders, couple distress and sexual problems, health-related problems, and many other conditions are reviewed by leading experts.

Recent work on emotional regulation gives a powerful new lens through which to view the evolution across childhood and adolescence of the lived experience and clinical presentation of depression. We have a richer picture of the depressed child, and the child at risk for depression, in interaction with family and wider world. We know more about the development and the developmental psychopathology of coping strategies. These advances give provocative clues to the actual processes whereby well-established risk and protective factors might interact to produce, sustain or curtail a depressive syndrome. This in turn opens the door to treatment and prevention approaches that are truly developmentally informed. This is the philosophy behind this completely updated and comprehensive analysis of childhood depression.

This issue of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics will provide a comprehensive review of Depression in Special Populations within child and adolescent psychiatry. Guest edited by Drs. Karen Wagner and Warren Ng, this issue will discuss a number of related topics that are important to practicing child psychiatrists. This issue is one of four selected each year by our series Consulting Editor, Dr. Todd Peters. Articles in this volume include, but are not limited to: Foster care/child welfare; Juvenile Justice; Deaf and Hard of Hearing; African American/Latino; HIV and Depression; Children of military families; Depression in American Indian Youth; Depression in Medically Ill Children; Youth Depression in School Settings; Sexual Minority Youth LGBTQ; Youth with Substance Use; Transitional Age Youth, and College Mental Health, among others.

The Third Edition of the highly acclaimed Encyclopedia of Special Education has been thoroughly updated to include the latest information about new legislation and guidelines. In addition, this comprehensive resource features school psychology, neuropsychology, reviews of new tests and curricula that have been developed since publication of the second edition in 1999, and new biographies of important figures in special education. Unique in focus, the Encyclopedia of Special Education, Third Edition addresses issues of importance ranging from theory to practice and is a critical reference for researchers as well as those working in the special education field.