|
Basic InformationMore InformationLatest NewsQuestions and AnswersVideosLinksBook Reviews100 Things Guys Need to Know3 NBS of Julian DrewA Guide to Asperger SyndromeA Tribe ApartA User Guide to the GF/CF Diet for Autism, Asperger Syndrome and AD/HDA Walk in the Rain With a BrainAdolescence and Body ImageAdolescent DepressionAfterAggression and Antisocial Behavior in Children and AdolescentsAll Alone in the UniverseAmelia RulesAmericaAnother PlanetAntisocial Behavior in Children and AdolescentsArtemis FowlAssessment and Treatment of Childhood Problems, Second EditionAutistic Spectrum DisordersBad GirlBetween Two WorldsBeyond AppearanceBeyond Diversity DayBig Mouth & Ugly GirlBill HensonBipolar DisordersBody Image, Eating Disorders, and ObesityBody Image, Eating Disorders, and Obesity in YouthBoyBoysBrandedBreaking PointBreathing UnderwaterBringing Up ParentsBullying and TeasingCan't Eat, Won't EatCatalystChild and Adolescent Psychological DisordersChildren Changed by TraumaChildren with Emerald EyesChildren’s Dreaming and the Development of Consciousness City of OneConcise Guide to Child and Adolescent PsychiatryConquering the Beast WithinContentious IssuesCrackedCutDancing in My NuddypantsDemystifying the Autistic ExperienceDescartes' BabyDilemmas of DesireDirtyDoing ItDoing SchoolDying to Be ThinEating an ArtichokeEducating Children With AutismElijah's CupEllison the ElephantEmerald City BluesEmotional and Behavioral Problems of Young ChildrenEvery Girl Tells a StoryFast GirlsFeather BoyFiregirlForever YoungFreaks, Geeks and Asperger SyndromeFreewillGeography ClubGeorgia Under WaterGirl in the MirrorGirlfightingGirlsourceGirlWiseGLBTQGood GirlsGoodbye RuneGranny Torrelli Makes SoupGrowing Up GirlHandbook for BoysHealing ADDHeartbeatHelping Children Cope With Disasters and TerrorismHelping Parents, Youth, and Teachers Understand Medications for Behavioral and Emotional ProblemsHollow KidsHow Children Learn the Meanings of WordsHow to Keep Your Teenager Out of Trouble and What to Do If You Can'tHug MeIntrusive ParentingIt's Me!It's Perfectly NormalJake RileyJoey Pigza Swallowed the KeyJuvenile-Onset SchizophreniaKeeping the MoonKilling MonstersKim: Empty InsideKnocked Out by My Nunga-NungasLaura Numeroff's 10-Step Guide to Living with Your MonsterLearning About School ViolenceLeo the Lightning BugLet Kids Be KidsLiberation's ChildrenLife As We Know ItLisa, Bright and DarkLittle ChicagoLord of the FliesLoserLove and SexLove That DogManicMastering Anger and AggressionMind FieldsMiss American PieMom, Dad, I'm Gay.MonsterMore Than a LabelMyths of ChildhoodNew Hope for Children and Teens with Bipolar DisorderNo Two AlikeNot Much Just Chillin'Odd Girl OutOdd Girl Speaks OutOn the Frontier of AdulthoodOne Hot SecondOne in ThirteenOphelia SpeaksOphelia's MomOur Journey Through High Functioning Autism and Asperger SyndromeOut of the DustOvercoming School AnxietyParenting and the Child's WorldParenting Your Out-Of-Control TeenagerPediatric PsychopharmacologyPeriod PiecesPhobic and Anxiety Disorders in Children and AdolescentsPINSPraising Boys WellPraising Girls WellPretty in PunkPrincess in the SpotlightProblem Child or Quirky Kid?Psychotherapy As PraxisPsychotherapy for Children and AdolescentsRaising a Self-StarterRaising BlazeRaising Resilient ChildrenReclaiming Our ChildrenRedressing the EmperorReducing Adolescent RiskRethinking ADHDReweaving the Autistic TapestryRineke DijkstraRitalin is Not the Answer Action GuideRunning on RitalinSay YesSexual Teens, Sexual MediaSexuality in AdolescenceShooterShort PeopleShould I Medicate My Child?Skin GameSmackSmashedStaying Connected to Your TeenagerStick FigureStoner & SpazStop Arguing with Your KidsStraight Talk about Your Child's Mental HealthStrong, Smart, & BoldStudent DepressionSurvival Strategies for Parenting Children with Bipolar DisorderSurviving OpheliaTaking Charge of ADHD, Revised EditionTaming the Troublesome ChildTargeting AutismTeaching Problems and the Problems of TeachingTeen Angst? NaaahThat SummerThe American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook Of Child And Adolescent PsychiatryThe Arctic IncidentThe Bipolar ChildThe Buffalo TreeThe Bully, the Bullied, and the BystanderThe Carnivorous CarnivalThe Depressed ChildThe Developing MindThe Dragons of AutismThe Dream BearerThe Dulcimer Boy The Einstein SyndromeThe EpidemicThe Eternity CubeThe Explosive ChildThe Field of the DogsThe First IdeaThe Identity TrapThe Inside Story on Teen GirlsThe Little TernThe Mean Girl MotiveThe Men They Will BecomeThe Myth of LazinessThe New Gay TeenagerThe Notebook GirlsThe Nurture AssumptionThe Opposite of InvisibleThe Order of the Poison OakThe Other ParentThe Present Moment in Psychotherapy and Everyday LifeThe Real Truth About Teens and SexThe Rise and Fall of the American TeenagerThe Secret Lives of GirlsThe Sex Lives of TeenagersThe Shared HeartThe Spider and the BeeThe StepsThe Thought that CountsThe Unhappy ChildThe Vile VillageThe Whole ChildThen Again, Maybe I Won'tTherapy with ChildrenThings I Have to Tell YouTouching Spirit BearTrauma in the Lives of ChildrenTreacherous LoveTrue BelieverTwistedUnhappy TeenagersWay to Be!We're Not MonstersWhat about the KidsWhat Would Joey Do?What's Happening to My Body? Book for BoysWhat's Happening to My Body? Book for GirlsWhen Nothing Matters AnymoreWhen Sex Goes to SchoolWhen Your Child Has an Eating DisorderWhere The Kissing Never StopsWhose America?Why Are You So Sad?WinnicottWorried All the TimeYes, Your Teen Is Crazy!You Hear MeYoung People and Mental HealthYour Child, Bully or Victim? |
| |
by Douglas Riley Taylor Publishing, 2001 Review by Monique Thornton, MSW on May 28th 2002 
Douglas A. Rileys book, The Depressed Child: A
Parents Guide for Rescuing Kids, explores the nature of depression along
with some of the most common negative statements that children with depression
tell themselves as a part of their internal program or their belief system.
Riley provides a concise overview of the nature of depression. He has 20 years of experience treating
children for depression and has realized that most children who are depressed
need their parents, and a therapist, to help them navigate through the
depression. Through this book he helps
parents examine their childs faulty thought process, so they may help their
child make a conscious choice, through hard work and cognitive behavioral therapy,
to change their way of thinking.
The chapters describe each of several beliefs that
depressed children think and perceive about life and themselves. The chapters
include: Death is an Option, I am Made of Inferior Stuff, My Mistakes are
Proof that I am Worthless, No One will Ever Like Me, The F Word, I
Cant Live without This Person, I Must Be Going Crazy, My Parent Didnt
Love Me Enough, Substances Will Make Me Happy, and Nothing will Ever
Change. The author also includes
chapters on Planning the Rescue Mission, Building Treatment Strategies, and
a brief chapter on Associated Disorders.
Throughout the book, Riley
challenges a series of commonly held beliefs (denoted by each chapter) held by
children, about their lives and relationships that have led them into depression.
He skillfully challenges the beliefs through a variety of highly effective
cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. For example, in the chapter, I Must
be Going Crazy the author describes strategies to help kids deal with hearing
voices (he discriminates between auditory hallucinations and voices of beliefs
or negative thoughts). These strategies can be generalized to help deal with
other faulty/negative beliefs. For example he says to imagine the negative
thought/negative voice as a monster. Imagine the monster, two inches tall,
running around, screaming, roaring, and shaking its fists. Visualize taking
your foot and squishing this monster like a bug. This visualization exercise
gives the child hope and a voice and helps her regain a sense of control. The
thought, or voice, loses all power.
In each chapter Riley provides a
list of the beliefs behind a main belief such as substances will make me
happy. He describes that when depression and substance abuse are combined,
kids thinking becomes more blunted and pessimistic. He explains that the
therapist/or parent must first challenge the belief system of the child and
then provide replacement beliefs. He states that reprogramming is difficult, so
it is best to start these discussions about their beliefs early in life.
Riley discusses the question of
what causes depression. He states that there are three main factors: How a
person thinks, outside factors and a biochemical imbalance. Once the cause is
determined, the therapist is able to make a plan of action. In conjunction with
the therapists plan, the parent can learn how to talk to a child about what he
is thinking and may be able to help him replace his depression causing thoughts
with more productive ways of thinking. Riley describes that in addition to
cognitive therapy the child may also need anti-depressants and supportive
therapy to help cope with outside factors that may be affecting the child¹s
depressive state.
Riley indicates how a faulty belief
system leads to new faulty beliefs that leads to dangerous behaviors and or a
depressive state of mind. He does not focus on where to place the blame for
kids who are depressed. Instead he takes a highly organized, straightforward
approach to helping kids challenge their own negative belief system. Once he is
able to help kids realize how their beliefs are baseless, they are then one
step closer to forming a new belief system based on reality.
The chapter Building a treatment
Strategy describes treatment strategies of which parents should be aware. Riley
provides information regarding the different types of mental health
practitioners, inpatient vs. outpatient treatment, medication, and evaluation
of the treatment process. Riley also provides three test case scenarios in
order for the reader to test their clinical judgment. I found this chapter to
provide highly reliable information that may be helpful to parents searching
for the most appropriate treatment for their child.
In Rileys final chapter he includes a few kind words about depression. Here
he expresses how he struggles with the grief of when kids he has worked with
have committed suicide. He states that fortunately not many kids who are
depressed reach this point of desperation. Riley explains how parents are given
a chance to help their kids when depression is strong enough to catch their
attention. His experience is that most parents are surprised at how much
information their children will share if they are only asked.
Riley describes that the journey to
helping children must be taken on with the joint cooperation between therapist
and parent. He emphasizes that the nature of depression is pervasive and that
if the cognitive behavioral approach is not reinforced in the home, the
treatment will not be as effective. He also reinforces some common-sense advice
to parents about setting firm limits and helping their kids make better
decisions.
Riley states, in order to rescue
your child from cognitive depression, you have to help him understand that the
way he is thinking is what is actually causing him to be depressed. In order to
help him escape depression, we will have to show him, sometimes quite
dramatically, that his thinking is faulty. Riley explores the idea that if a
child has a thought-based cause for depression, then he needs to be given the
tools to replace depression-causing thoughts with more productive ways of
thinking.
Riley skillfully explains from a
strengths perspective the cognitive behavioral approach to helping kids and
families break free from depression. He encourages children to recognize that
they have the ability to change. He provides children and families struggling
with depression hope that their situation can improve and the tools for a
lifetime of improved mental health.
©
2002 Monique Thorton
Monique Thornton earned her MSW in
1993 from the University of Kansas, and is the mother of a 5-year-old with
Asperger Syndrome.
|