Bruce Ward
CanWest News Service; Ottawa Citizen

Thursday, April 19, 2007

OTTAWA - Most children with depression don't get the help they need because their illness goes unrecognized, says a leading adolescent psychiatrist.

"We detect maybe 20 to 30 per cent of all the cases," Dr. Andre Gagnon said in an interview. "At best, maybe half of those areappropriately treated."

The signs of depression in young people are often dismissed as typical adolescent behaviour, said Gagnon, director of continuing medical education at the University of Ottawa and an adolescent psychiatrist.

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"They are sometimes apathetic or tired, don't sleep well and don't want to go to school or do chores. So people say, 'Ah, adolescence.' They don't think that maybe they are more than just going through that stage of life but are rather being affected by the common problem that is depression."

Recognizing and treating depression in adolescents is important, said Gagnon, who will speak on the subject today at an already sold out symposium for primary care workers, clinicians, educators, and others in community mental health care.

"Depression slows down the process of natural growth in adolescents. Those are very important years to gain a number of important competencies - intellectually, emotionally, and socially. That's why it is important to detect and treat them so they don't have the delays of losing a year in school, or getting into self-destructive behaviour, such as taking drugs and alcohol."

In his speech this afternoon, Gagnon will focus on self-destructive behaviour among youth, which he describes as "taking too many chances with too many things."

"I take a look at self-destructive actions of these depressed youngsters. Some don't take care of themselves, some take on high-risk behaviours - driving too fast, unchecked sexual activities, or even at some levels thinking about self-destruction."

Medication is often a beneficial treatment for adolescent depression, he said.

"But medication is not the panacea. It has to be accompanied by reframing of all the thinking and the behaviour."

The goal is to improve human relationships so the youngsters are "able to step back into community and family life."

Young people with depression may have a hard time coping with school and have difficulty getting along with others.

He said parents should be concerned if their children become more irritable or if their eating and sleeping patterns change.

"Observe it and discuss it with them, and check if at times they have black thoughts or if they have ideas about suicide."

Parents should also find out if here is a history of depression in their families.

"The tendency now is to recognize that it can be hereditary. If there is a number of people in the family who suffer from depression, anxiety and other psychiatric problems or emotional distress, it's very important to to double check if this happens in your kids at different moments."

Working with depressed children is "rewarding in many ways," he said.

"Once they know what has happened they become good partners in the treatment of their situations. We try to foster changes to make sure they don't lose many of the assets of their age. Most of the time, families are very eager to help."