Cognitive behavioural therapy: ‘Depression in adolescents not just a western problem’

With the majority of our population in its youth, we need to worry about their futures, say experts.

KARACHI:

Is it possible that your adolescent child is experiencing the initial stages of depression and you are completely unaware or even exacerbating the situation in your frustration to understand what is wrong? The answer is yes, especially now, especially in Pakistan, psychologists say.

Gathering from across the county for the 2nd Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) conference, psychologists shared their experiences and concerns at a workshop at PNS Shifa on Saturday. The conference has been organised by the Pakistan Association of Cognitive Therapists in collaboration with the Department of Psychiatry at PNS Shifa’s Institute of Professional Psychology, Bahria University and the Pakistan Institute of Learning and Living in Karachi.

On Saturday they held two workshops as a precursor to the main event on Sunday at PNS Shifa.

In one session conducted by consultant clinical psychologist Dr Salma Siddiqui, titled, ‘Cognitive behavioural techniques for depression in adolescents’ a list of potential onset factors as well as methods to deal with them were outlined. “There is a misconception that this [depression] is a western problem. It’s very much present in our youth as well,” she said. Siddiqui, for one, should know. She has been practising for the last 25 years and recently returned from the United States.

Pakistani adolescents are also prone to depression as a result of parental conflicts, cultural constraints, severe academic pressure and other triggers. The situation gets more worrying if this depression is not addressed and treated. “There is a four-fold increased risk of adult depression in those who have been depressed as a child,” she said.

There is another reason why we need to pay attention to this, she warned. Young people make up a significant portion of the country’s population. If we don’t help them manage today, the numbers of depressed adults could rise. By way of giving an example, Siddiqui spoke of a study on depression in schoolgirls in Lahore. Over 500 girls between ages of 13 and 15 years were part of the sample. “There were 36 alarming statements we heard from these young girls - from wanting to run away from home to physically harming themselves.” If the situation is so desperate right now what will happen once they grow older, get married and have children? “The stresses keep rising as your grow older, we need to identify and treat this early on.”

Published in The Express Tribune, December 18^th, 2011.