Panel: All Teens Should be Tested for Depression
March 31st, 2009…an independent panel of experts convened by the federal government…
Say that out loud a couple of times. If you feel the need to bathe afterward, that’s cool.
Via: AP:
An influential government-appointed medical panel is urging doctors to routinely screen all American teens for depression — a bold step that acknowledges that nearly 2 million teens are affected by this debilitating condition.
Most are undiagnosed and untreated, said the panel, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which sets guidelines for doctors on a host of health issues.
The task force recommendations appear in April’s issue of the journal Pediatrics. And they go farther than the American Academy of Pediatrics’ own guidance for teen depression screening.
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An estimated 6 percent of U.S. teenagers are clinically depressed. Evidence shows that detailed but simple questionnaires can accurately diagnose depression in primary-care settings such as a pediatrician’s office.
The task force said that when followed by treatment, including psychotherapy, screening can help improve symptoms and help kids cope. Because depression can lead to persistent sadness, social isolation, school problems and even suicide, screening to treat it early is crucial, the panel said.
The task force is an independent panel of experts convened by the federal government to establish guidelines for treatment in primary-care. Its new guidance goes beyond the pediatrics academy, which advises pediatricians to ask teen patients questions about depression. Other doctor groups advise screening only high-risk youngsters.
Perhaps I can reccomend the “Teenage Liberation Handbook” by Grace Llewellyn for any depressed teens (ie, most of those that go to school)
But wake up, you fools! It is the U.S. Government that is CAUSING the depression.
What reasonably intelligent teenager would want to admit that they are depressed to a doctor? I know I wouldn’t if I was a teenager. I wouldn’t want to be forced to take happy pills meant for adults not kids and I certainly wouldn’t want to waste my time talking to some so called shrink about my feelings. I don’t think there is a teenager on earth that hasn’t been depressed or moody at some point or other. It comes with being a teenager.