Treating Depressed Children

This is the first book to show therapists how to break down concepts used to treat depression in adults into terms understandable to children. It describes the use of a cognitive-behavioral approach, which is one of the only two interventions recognized by the APA's Task Force on the Promotion and Dissemination of Psychological Procedures as an empirically validated treatment for depression in adults. Incorporating cartoons, stories, games, and role-playing, the author provides a full twelve-session course of treatment, everything the therapist needs to help children recognize and identify emotions, change the negative or distorted thoughts that lead to depression, identify positive traits and gain confidence in their abilities, learn crucial interpersonal skills, and consolidate skills by creating coping cards to use whenever problems arise.