How We Treat Depression at Roots Renewal Ranch
Depression Treatment For Teen Girls
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Watching your child retreat into the quiet, heavy world of depression is heartbreaking. You’re not alone—teen depression is a growing crisis, yet far too many teens face it without support. Taking that first step toward treatment is crucial for preventing long-term struggles.
About 1 in 5 adolescents experience symptoms of anxiety or depression
Watching your teenage daughter battle with depression at an age when life should be more carefree can be heart-wrenching. It can be a difficult time for everyone in your family. When your teenage daughter is feeling depressed, reaching her can feel next to impossible. She might isolate herself from others, or act out in ways that are unlike her.
If you are concerned that your daughter is depressed, you need to remember she is probably feeling very badly about herself. It is important that you present yourself as a safe, calm presence she can go to. You want to listen to her thoughts and feelings, not force her to push them away.
Get StartedIf your teen is struggling with depression, she’s not alone. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, from 2016-2019, an annual average of 314,000 people ages 12-17 who experienced a major depressive episode received treatment in Texas.
The fact that you are reading this service page means you are taking a great first step. If your daughter is depressed, she may need professional care. So, we’ll help you learn a little bit more about depression and potential treatment options.
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What Is Depression?
Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses in the U.S. The National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH) states that symptoms must be present for at least two weeks for your teenage daughter to receive a diagnosis of depression.
Like lots of other people suffering from depression, teenage girls struggling with depression often have difficulty maintaining a daily routine. Depression has this way of making small tasks like doing classwork or chores feel like a bunch of huge tasks that are almost impossible to get done when depression is sucking up all of her mental and physical energy.
A sense of hopelessness often comes alongside feelings of depression, which can then impact your daughter’s interest in performing routing activities such as eating, showering, or spending time with friends.
The lack of self-care and isolation becomes a vicious cycle where your daughter feels worse about her appearance or her relationships with friends and then becomes even more depressed. It’s important to help your daughter take small actions each day to overcome these downward spirals.
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What Are the Symptoms of Depression in Adolescent Girls?
All people are unique and may not show the exact same symptoms. Do not wait until your child is showing many or all symptoms. Common symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD) include:
- Constant feelings of sadness, anxiety, or emptiness
- Feeling hopeless or pessimistic (negative about the world around you)
- No longer being interested in hobbies
- Feeling worthless, helpless, or guilty
- Moving or talking slowly
- Fatigue or a chronic lack of energy
- Having trouble making decisions, concentrating, or remembering things
- Having trouble with sleep, like not being able to stay asleep or not being able to wake up
- Changes in appetite
- Changes in weight
- Aches, headaches, and digestive problems that do not have an obvious cause and do not get better with normal treatments
- Thoughts about death
- Self-harming actions like cutting themselves or negative self-talk
- Thoughts of suicide or suicide attempts
What Causes Depression in Adolescent Girls?
The specific causes of depression are complicated and very often are related to many things in a teenager’s life. Usually, depression is attributed to environmental factors, genetics (traits passed down from generation to generation), psychological history, brain chemistry, and medical history.
While chemical imbalances in the brain are often cited as a causal factor for depression, no research to date has supported this hypothesis. Many times, there is a trigger for depression. That might be some kind of abuse, a friendship ending, a romantic relationship breaking up, the death of a loved one, or some other traumatic event. The life event or, more often, a series of life events, creates negative perceptions about self or the world that leads to habitual thought and behavior patterns which can be hard to break.
Your daughter may be at greater risk than average for depression if she has experienced serious trauma, if you have a family history of mental health issues, if she has had sudden changes in her life, if she is under a lot of stress, or if she is taking a new medication.
At the same time, there may not be an obvious trigger for her depressive episode. Every person experiences their mental health differently. If you are worried about your adolescent daughter, it is important to have a calm conversation about her mental health where you listen to what she says she’s feeling. The onset of depression in young girls is most often preceded mounting anxiety over several years, so previous patterns of anxiety are often clear indicators of potential progression to depres
What Are the Types of Depression?
There are multiple different types of depression. Some of the types of depression that occur in adolescents include:
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)
MDD or major depression is one of the most common forms of depression. Your daughter might have very little energy or lose her interest in things she used to love. She may have a lot of negative thoughts and be overwhelmed with them. The NIMH estimates that in 2019, 3.8 million adolescents ages 12 to 17 in the U.S. had at least one major depressive episode. Adolescents in Texas have more than double the rate of major depressive episodes than adults. Bear in mind this was before the pandemic, which caused higher rates of depression.
Persistent Depressive Disorder (PDD or Dysthymia)
Persistent depressive disorder, which used to be called dysthymia, is another type of depression commonly found in teen girls. It’s similar to MDD, but is lower in severity.
The main difference is that girls with PDD have symptoms that last much longer even though they have an easier time living their usual lives. PDD is generally diagnosed if the depressive symptoms have lasted for more than 2 years.
Bipolar Disorder
People with bipolar disorder often have very extreme mood swings. The mood swings your daughter may have if she has bipolar disorder would not just be hormonal adolescent moodiness. Bipolar disorder is highly recognizable. If your daughter has this disorder, her moods will swing wildly between extremes from high to low. She’ll be extremely depressed for a period of time and then extremely high energy.
If your daughter is a person who is having manic periods often, she may have really big ideas, be very easily excited, and usually has lots of unfocused energy. This is often, although not always, followed by an extreme depressive episode where your daughter may feel very tired and sad. Bipolar disorder is different from other forms of depression and is often treated using forms of medication that are different from typical antidepressants.
Symptoms during manic episodes include:
- Fast or overly excited speech
- A sudden increase in energy
- Sudden impulsiveness
- Intense happiness and excitement beyond what is called for by the situation
- Inflated sense of self-confidence
- Sudden mood swings from happiness to irritability
- Poor judgment
- Restlessness
Symptoms during depressive episodes include:
- Difficulty concentrating
- Sudden loss of interest in passions or hobbies that they previously engaged in
- Talking slowly or having slow body movements
- Uncontrolled or unstoppable crying
- Intense sadness beyond what what might consider normal for the situation
- Insomnia or an inability to fall asleep and stay asleep
- Suicidal thoughts or actions
- Sudden loss of energy
Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) often occurs in winter months or other periods when days are longer and darker. Experts are still unsure of the exact causes, but many think it could be related to changes in circadian rhythm, the amount of light received during the day, or perhaps more time spent in doors. Standard therapeutic techniques such as cognitive behavioral therapy are used in conjunction with increased exposure to light (natural is best whenever possible.)
Premenstrual Depressive Disorder
This is a type of depressive disorder that found in some girls after they start menstruating. The symptoms of depression most often occur when a person stops ovulating around the time that menstruation starts. A simple chart tracking menstruation and feelings of depression can easily identify this disorder.
How We Treat Depression at Roots Renewal Ranch
We know you have come to this page because you care about your daughter, and you want to help her get through this difficult time. That’s what we want, too.
If your daughter is suffering from depression, you must approach the situation gently. She is already struggling and is putting a lot of blame on herself.
Residential treatment may be a good option for your daughter, so let’s explain what she would experience here at Roots Renewal Ranch.
Your daughter will receive individual therapy sessions every week, in addition to daily group therapy sessions with girls her own age who are struggling with similar issues. The girls at Roots Renewal Ranch will also journal and complete assignments provided regularly by our clinical staff.
We use many evidence-based therapy methods to treat your daughter as effectively as possible. These therapy methods include:
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
- Somatic psychotherapy
We structure our day based on the guidelines provided in the Healthy Mind Platter by Dan Seigal, to improve productivity and healing while treating depression.
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Your daughter or loved one is so much more than the problems they are facing. Call us today.
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We know how overwhelming it can feel when your daughter is suffering from depression. We are here to help your daughter’s mental health with our therapy programs.
FAQs About Depression and Treatment:
What are the four major causes of depression?
There are many different potential causes of depression. Four of the potential major causes of depression include brain chemistry, genetics, traumatic events, and medical conditions.
What exactly are the symptoms of depression?
There are many different symptoms of depression. Some of them include constant feelings of sadness, anxiety, or emptiness; feeling hopeless or pessimistic (negative about the world around you); no longer being interested in hobbies; feeling worthless, helpless, or guilty; moving or talking slowly; fatigue, or a chronic lack of energy; having trouble making decisions, concentrating, or remembering things; having trouble with sleep, like not being able to stay asleep or not being able to wake up; changes in appetite; changes in weight; aches, headaches, and digestive problems that do not have an obvious cause and do not get better with normal treatments; thoughts about death; self-harming actions like cutting themselves or negative self-talk; and/or thoughts of suicide or suicide attempts
What will happen during depression?
Depression impacts the way people think, act, and feel. It often causes chronic feelings of sadness and worthlessness that can make it very hard to do daily tasks. This is often due to factors such as traumatic life events, genetics, brain chemistry, and/or medical conditions.
GET THE HELP YOU DESERVE!
Our goal at Roots Renewal Ranch is to provide ethical, effective, evidence-based care for your daughter. Our care is based on the values of commitment, safety, integrity, transparency, vulnerability, trust, service, growth, purpose, and simplicity. If you believe your daughter could benefit from our treatment.
CALL NOW | (888) 399-0489For a FREE & confidential assessment