Depression and mood disorders in children have only been recognized in the mental health community during the last 15-20 years. Most psychiatric diagnoses have been quantified by checklists, tests, and cut-off scores to provide some uniformity and common language among professionals.
While this might be important, it is really up to the individual therapist to recognize the sub clinical symptoms, those that cannot be quantified, and yet can undermine the child's school performance, family relationships, and self-regard.
Laurie Assadi is a Limited License Psychologist in private practice in Kalamazoo, MI. and has been using her formal education, parenting experience, and pure instincts to touch the lives of children. Her practical, "in the trenches" experience stems from teaching preschool for three years, to working as a School Psychologist, diagnosing and programming for Special Education students. Since 1986, she has been in private practice working with children and teenagers with mood, behavioral, and attentional problems.
These children have shaped her therapeutic approach and have given her the gift of insight as they allow her to travel through their world. A world of confusion, pain, and despair that gradually, with help, results in one of hope, confidence, and personal achievement. Key to her success is respect for the child and acknowledgement of the pain in parenting these children.
Laurie illustrates this with sensitivity and insight in her book, Waking From the Nightmare: Giving Our Children Optimism (purchase a copy) where she explains and explores both the heart and the brain of the child with Depression. Unlike any other, this book explains the often confusing and disturbing behavior of the child who is angry, argumentative, and self-defeating. Reading this work will give any parent, teacher, or professional a new understanding of children and new hope for their future..
Laurie Assadi and the staff at the Clinical Center for Learning and Development specialize in helping kids and adults who struggle with:
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