Depression in Children & Adolescents

Depression in kids and adolescents doesn’t often look like the depression we imagine. While there are a few kids who get sad and act ‘down’, many more kids lose their drive and become unmotivated. It is not uncommon for a solidly motivated student to get bogged down by the pressures of schoolwork and social media. They will go from being a conscientious ‘A’ student to letting their grades drop and procrastinating with homework/projects. When this happens, parents can often misdiagnosis this as laziness.

At Ray Levy, Ph.D. & Associates we pride ourselves in identifying these behaviors and successfully treating the underlying depression. We not only help the child/adolescent, but also help the parents reset their expectations and learn how to facilitate better coping with their kids. We often take a ‘family’ approach to this difficulty since it affects more than just the person with depression.