In years past, parents’ most significant concern in their teens was drinking and driving. While that’s still a concern, of course, depression is the biggest threat to today’s teenagers. Research is ongoing as to why teen depression and suicide rates have increased in the past few years. However, experts agree that it may have something to do with challenges stemming from pandemic isolation.
Not to mention, teens today are bombarded with unattainable, unrealistic beauty standards via social media on top of school, work, and social demands.
Approximately 20% of U.S. teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17 had at least one major depressive episode in 2021, with 29.2% being adolescent females and 11.5% adolescent males.
That’s around five million teens and adolescents.
Teenage depression therapy is one of the best things you can do for their mental health to ensure it doesn’t get worse. There are several benefits to therapy for teens. But first, you must be able to recognize the symptoms. And if you do, it’s crucial to take action and get them into therapy for teens as soon as possible.
Teenage Counseling Services in San Diego
Symptoms of Depression in Teenagers
Recognizing signs of depression in your teen or adolescent can be challenging since they are going through some pretty significant hormonal and body changes. It can be tough to distinguish whether they are “just being a teen” or whether they show signs of depression.
It’s essential you don’t shrug off potential warning signs of teenage depression. By leaving depression untreated, you put your child at risk for increased mental health challenges that can potentially be fatal.
Here’s what you should look out for in teens and adolescents:
- feelings of overwhelming sadness and crying spells
- irritability and anger, even over small things
- feeling hopeless or worthless
- loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed
- decreased self-esteem
- self-criticism and self-blame
- extreme sensitivity to rejection or failure
- lethargy
- difficulty concentrating or remembering
- thoughts and mentions of death or suicide
- sleep changes
- changes in appetite
- substance abuse
- frequent body aches
- isolating themselves from others
- school performance
- self-harm-disruptive or risky behavior
We understand that your teen or adolescent may not want to talk to you about how they are feeling. The best thing to do is to try to talk to them about it. Set aside some time to speak with them in a safe space and let them know your concerns.
How Therapy for Teens Can Help
Teenage depression therapy can do a lot for your child’s mental health. At BOLD Health, we have a team of experienced, high-quality teen and child psychiatrists in San Diego who are ready to help your child work through their mental health challenges to live a more fulfilling and rewarding life. Afterall, this time in their lives is fleeting, and they shouldn’t have to spend it under the weight of depression.
Whether your teen or adolescent needs therapy for teens, medication management, or a combination of the two, our team of experts can help. And when your child sees a teen and child psychiatrist, if medication is beneficial to their treatment, you won’t have to get a referral to anyone. They can get all the help they need in one place!
There are several benefits to teenage depression therapy, many of which they can use throughout their lives. In therapy, your child can:
- Have a safe space to work through tough stuff: When you get your child the help they need through therapy for teens, they can work with a professional to understand what’s troubling them in a non-judgmental environment. They can freely express their feelings without being worried about what their therapist will think.
- Learn new, healthier ways of coping: A psychiatrist for teens can help your child identify any triggers contributing to their depression, whether they be in school, relationships, friends, family, or other areas. Their therapist will work with them to develop healthy ways of coping so they can manage these triggers more effectively.
- Build their self-esteem: Teens dealing with depression often battle feelings of worthlessness, which significantly impacts self-esteem. When they work with a teen and child psychiatrist in San Diego (or wherever you’re located), they’ll develop a more positive self-image by identifying their strengths and working to achieve their mental health goals. And when they reach them, that’s another way to help them feel more confident in themselves.
- Learn emotional regulation: As children mature through adolescence and the teen years, they deal with a lot of hormones and difficult emotions. Having depression often exacerbates these emotions, which, in turn, can worsen depression. In therapy for teens, your child can learn valuable techniques for managing and expressing their emotions in healthier ways. They may learn things like deep breathing exercises, mindfulness, and relaxation techniques.
- Benefit from medication management: While not every teen or adolescent could benefit from medication as part of their depression treatment, some can. In fact, research shows that the combination of medication and therapy significantly improves therapeutic outcomes.
- Receive psychoeducation: When your child gets therapy for teens, your mental health provider will educate both you and your child on depression, its causes, symptoms, and the goals of treatment. When you understand what to expect during therapy, you and your child are empowered to participate actively in the healing journey.
Choose BOLD Health For High-Quality Teen Psychiatry and Teenage Counseling Services in San Diego
This could be a wonderful and enjoyable time in your teen’s life. But if they battle depression, even if they put on a fake smile, they aren’t living their best life. Finding teenage counseling services in San Diego, including behavioral therapists for teenagers, can be daunting, but BOLD Health is your answer if you’re looking for a high-quality provider who uses expert care and evidence-based treatment.
We not only take the time to genuinely get to know and understand your teen or adolescent and what brought them to our door, but we also make sure we curate the ideal treatment program to help them overcome depression. Their individualized treatment program at BOLD Health would include help from a teen and child psychiatrist in San Diego and any of the following treatment options:
- individual therapy
- group therapy
- medication management
- intensive outpatient program (IOP in San Diego)
- ketamine treatment
You’ll be kept informed of your child’s progress throughout their healing journey. And we’ll walk beside you and your child every step of the way.