Depression in children is complicated, partly because the symptoms can look so different from adults with mood disorders, and partly because as adults we are confused about what these signs actually mean. So a child may be seen as impossible to handle and hostile; even serious mood swings might be put down to "just being an adolescent" or "a phase".
The authors are American, and this shows in suggestions for resources and treatment, but this is a book that gets to the heart of the matter by describing mood disorders and spelling out the details of different depressive and bipolar illnesses.
Parents who struggle to help and understand their child need all the support and information they can get. Some may be reassured to read "it's not your fault", but they must know how to deal with their child's symptoms.
As with all psychological problems, it's hard to get to the root of the causes, and this book focuses on treating symptoms, not curing the illness.
The visual aids in the book were helpful in, for example, explaining the difference between normal fluctuations in mood and those of major depressions or bipolar disorders.
Raising a Moody Child devotes some space to related symptoms that worry parents and carers: anxiety disorders, phobias, eating disorders, stress disorders, panics, Asperger's, ADHD and more are carefully considered.
If you need to know about medication and possible side-effects, and what to expect from therapy, you will find the information here.
This book does what it sets out to. It says it clearly and in a way that will provide support and much needed information for anyone who is helping a child with a mood disorder.
- Jill Curtis is a member of the British Association of Psychotherapists.
www.familyonwards.com
Raising a Moody Child - How to cope with depression and bipolar disorder; By Mary A Fristad, and Jill S Goldberg Arnold, published by Guilford Press; ISBN 1-57230-871-0; 259pp; 13.
