Abstract
It is not unusual for a child to feel a little down now and then, especially as he nears adolescence. Life is fraught with disappointments, losses, illness, and sad events. The child might be excluded from a sports team that they had hoped to play on, a favorite pet or grandparent dies, or they are rejected by their peer group. For most children and adolescents, feeling “down” is a transient event, and as the child engages in positive activities or events, they begin to feel better. Most cases of episodic depression last between 4 and 12 months. When the negative mood persists, the child may feel overwhelmed by sadness or hopelessness. In this chapter, causes of depression will be described. Four portraits of depression will be presented: two examples of children on the autism spectrum who also have depression, the child with bipolar disorder, and an adolescent who detaches and has suicidal thoughts. Strategies for these types of depression will be presented integrating mind–body techniques to improve the biological bases for depression as well as dialectical behavioral techniques to change the child’s negative cognitions and depressed mood.
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