Session three and four for depressive adolescents
Session three
In this session, the leader is expected to take the adolescents through the risk factors that make adolescents be exposed to adolescent depression. However, the leader is expected to ensure that the adolescents are briefly reminded of what they learned in the past two sessions. The leader can do this by asking random questions in the definition of depression and the signs and symptoms. Through this, the leader can assess the effectiveness of the sessions and that of the mode of delivery.
The leader should explain several risk factors for depression. Since it is challenging to explain all the risk factors of depression in one session, the leader will choose the major ones, and the rest will be briefly outlined Depression (Clart. 2017). The risk factors for adolescent depressive disorders are mainly threefold, which entail biological, environmental, and psychological and are always intertwined.
The first risk factor to be explained is a history of depression in the family. The genetic susceptibility to depression is a significant factor that is still being researched. A major depressive disorder is basically heritable, with heritability between 37 and 38 %. Moreover, parental depression is highly associated with adolescent depression (Zalar et al., 2018). Children who belong to parental that are depressed are at three times greater risk of developing depression compared to those of parents who have never experienced depression.
The poor health condition of an adolescent is also a risk factor that can significantly influence the development of depression. Adolescents who have chronic diseases or keep on falling sick are at a higher risk of being depressed (Zalar et al., 2018). For instance, children that are diagnosed with asthma and diabetes mellitus are more likely to develop depression. This has been associated with an inability to live normally like their colleagues, which results in depressive symptoms emanating from factors such as self-esteem (Clart. 2017). Moreover, adolescents who are physically challenged are also at a high risk of developing depression.
The hormonal changes in adolescent girls can lead to emotional alterations. As a result of these alterations, they are likely to lead to the development of teenage depression. Depressive episodes are likely to occur at puberty, especially for girls (Clart. 2017). Girls are two times likely to develop depression as compared to boys. Moreover, adolescents who may be using pills for birth control and treating acne with Accutane may be at a higher risk of developing depressive disorders.
There also psychological factors that trigger depressive episodes in adolescents. Child abuse is among these factors is a child and child abuse (major depressive disorder, n.d ). The adolescents that experience physical, emotional, sexual abuse have a higher risk of developing depression as compared to those who have not gone through such conditions (major depressive disorder, n.d ). Peer pressure, poverty, and unsatisfactory academic performance is also a risk factor for depression. Additionally, the loss of a friend or a loved one or have challenges with their parents, or their romantic partners are also highly ranked on the ladder of developing depression.
Cognitive factors that influence depression entail low self-esteem and negativity in thinking. Depressed teenagers fell useless, and they take their experiences with utter negativity, which makes them lose energy to carry on with life (Clart. 2017). After elaborating on these risk factors, the leader is expected to allow the teenagers to open up and share their experiences, which they think have led them to develop depression. After sharing, the leader should dismiss the group.
Session Four
In this session, the leader is expected to elaborate on the effects of depression on adolescents. However, the leader is expected to do a recap on the topics that were discussed in the past sessions. For instance, the leader should assist the members in remembering the symptoms of depression and risk factors of depression. The leader should then get into the topic of the day, which is the effects of depression.
Depression leads to harmful disorders. These may entail eating disorders such as bulimia anorexia and obesity. Depression may also lead to challenging or oppositional disorder, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive conduct, and other psychological challenges that may result from depression.
Depression may lead an adolescent to risky behaviors such as criminal behavior, alcoholism, and drug abuse, and suicide (Zalar et al., 2018). These considerably harm the life of the adolescent and may easily lead to death. For instance, the intake of drugs may lead to addiction, which may easily lead to death or devastating health effects (Zalar et al., 2018). However, it is sometimes impossible to demystify whether depression precedes these undesirable habits or the habits precede the condition.
The leader should pay much attention and stress on the most vital effect of depression, which has been noted to increase among the USA adolescents, which is suicide. Depressed adolescents attempt to take their own lives, assuming that it is a significant way of solving their problem (Zalar et al., 2018). Boys mainly use violent methods such as using guns, while girls use less intense means such and drug overdosing.
Identifying problems and solving them in the group
The group leader must be able to identify the challenges that are facing the group. Additionally, they must develop skills to solve these challenges. Among the obstacles that the lead might face is reluctance and guardedness (Corey, 2011). This is where some members are unwilling to express themselves and explore the internal feelings that are painful and deep. They may show defensive habits that can interfere with the processes of the group (Corey, 2011). The leader should be able to notice such a problem and encourage the members to share their experiences openly.
There some instances where there are difficult members of the group. The group leader must have skills on how to deal with them. The leader must refrain from responding to any sarcasm comment or expression that the member put s forward. In a non-blaming way, the leader should express their dissatisfaction with difficult members (Corey, 2011). Moreover, the leader should focus on meeting the needs of the members and avoiding focusing on their own needs. The leader should also be able to express a challenge to the members politely and respectfully rather than in a way that may cause pain or conflict (Corey, 2011). The leader should be sensitive to the culture of the member and refrain from attacking the person in a judgmental manner so that conflicts will be avoided (Corey, 2011). Additionally, it is significant to encourage a member to explore his or her fears instead of being protective and causing trouble for others or failing to cooperate with them. The group leader should address all the problems of the group and solve them appropriately, giving priority to major challenges, which may cause the activity of the group to be paralyzed.
References
Depression (major depressive disorder). (2018, February 03). Retrieved June 24, 2020, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/symptoms-causes/syc-20356007
Corey, G. (2011). Theory and practice of group counseling. Nelson Education.
Clart. D. (2017). The psychiatric interview (4th ed., Vol. 1, Ser. 1). London, United Kingdom: Wolters Kluwer.
Zalar, B., Blatnik, A., Maver, A., Klemenc-Ketiš, Z., & Peterlin, B. (2018). Family History as an Important Factor for Stratifying Participants in Genetic Studies of Major Depression. Balkan journal of medical genetics: BJMG, 21(1), 5–12. https://doi.org/10.2478/bjmg-2018-0010