According to clinical therapists, about 5% of all teens will experience depression, and about 20% of all adolescents will experience depression that is serious in nature between the ages of 12 and 19. Because adolescence is a tender age in which there are significant emotional, psychological, and physical changes occurring, mental health professionals and caregivers should tend to depressed teens with prudence.
This is particularly true because depressed teens who do not receive psychological treatment will often experience suicidal thinking and may make a suicide attempt, worse teens may succeed in their attempts and lose their lives. Teen suicide is the third leading cause of death of adolescents. The National Institute of Mental Health indicates that there are as many as 25 attempts of suicide to every one that is actually committed. Male teens are four more times likely to die from suicide, whereas female adolescents are more likely to make suicide attempts.
Because teen suicide is becoming more and more of a public concern, Los Angeles County established the Youth Suicide Prevention Project. It’s a collaborative project intended to provide school administrators, staff, parents, and students with the most up to date information on the prevention, intervention, and postvention of suicide of teen suicide.
Depression is frequently the preliminary psychological state from which suicide thoughts begin. During adolescence, typically depressed females outnumber males by two to one. These gender differences in depression typically occur between 15 to 18 years of age. However, there are differences in female versus male tendencies that cause the higher rates of depression in females. For instance, female teens tend to be more forthcoming in admitting depression; they are often vulnerable to more interpersonal stress; and they may experience biological changes that make them more at risk for depression.
Because teens are at a unique stage in life, there are particular environmental and social factors to consider with the treatment of depressed teens. For instance, having a social or peer group with strong connections are important for most teens. If a teen does not have connections with their peers, this might be a source of concern, and possibly a factor in their experience of depression. Furthermore, because they spend so much time in the academic environment, their school relationships, academic performance, and achievements will play a significant role in their mood.
For some teens, it is necessary to attend a rehabilitative like environment in order to receive intensive treatment that stabilizes their psychological state. Although rehab is often a word used with drug use, the word simply means to restore. In other words, a teen depression rehab in Los Angeles County would work to restore a teen’s mental health.
The mental health field currently recognizes that the combination of the right medication along with therapy as the best form of treatment for depression. At a teen depression rehab in Los Angeles, the appropriate type of treatment would be provided to meet a teen’s specific needs. Medication alone is not sufficient to treat depression. Psychotherapy facilitates working through the deeper dimensions of the depression in order to experience full recovery.
In fact, one of the most essential and important ways to facilitate change in a teen’s life is through the therapeutic alliance he or she has with a therapist. A psychotherapist can facilitate a teen’s maturity, independence, and autonomy. The trusting relationship that an adolescent and a psychotherapist have together can encourage a teen to monitor thoughts that lead to a depressed mood. For instance, with a compassionate and strong relationship with a therapist, a teen might be more inclined to complete a daily thought diary, which facilitates the examination of which thoughts and beliefs lead to a depressed mood. A therapist can help a teen identify behaviors, thoughts, and emotions that keep them stuck in the past, and facilitate their journey into the future.
