ldren were included in the category of diagnosed psychiatric illnesses (Brown 223). In actuality, 7-14% of children will experience an episode of major depression before the age of 15. An average of 20-30% of adult bipolar patients report having their first episode before the age of 20. In a sampling of 100,000 adolescents, two to three thousand will have mood disorders out of which 8-10 will commit suicide (Brown, 1996). It is said that the suicide rate for adolescents has increased more than 200% over the last decade. Brown (1996) added that an estimated 2,000 teenagers per year commit suicide in the United States, making it the leading cause of death after accidents and homicide. One physician remarked that it is not uncommon for young people to be preoccupied with issues of mortality and to contemplate the effect their death would have on close family and friends. Once it has been determined that the adolescent has the disease of depression, what can be done about it? There are two main avenues to treatment: "Psychotherapy and Medication." The majority of cases of adolescent depression is mild and can be dealt with through several psychotherapy sessions with intense listening of advice and encouragement. Co-morbidity is not unusual in teenagers, and possible pathology, including anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, learning disability or attention deficit hyperactive disorder (Brown 226) All of these should be searched for and treated, if present. For the more severe cases of depression, especially those with constant symptoms, medication may be necessary and without pharmaceutical treatment, depressive conditions could grow and become fatal. Also added that regardless of the type of treatment chosen, "it is important for children suffering from mood disorders to receive prompt treatment because early onset places children at a greater risk for multiple episodes of depression throughout their life span." (Brown 235) Until rece...
