In the article I found for this discussion titled, Anxiety and Depression in Children and Adolescents, written by the CDC, found on the website, the most important comment I read was that parents should first “reach out to the primary care physician or mental health specialist about having an evaluation done” (CDC, 2021).

The EB intervention that addresses the issues

Child therapy, family therapy, or both are known to help the child process the events causing the depression or suicidal ideation. The involvement of the school they attend is also included and can be helpful in some situations.

Applying therapy to the case of Brady

Brady, a 15-year-old Caucasian male, recently suffered the loss of his mother, presents as immature and below average intelligence and emotional functioning, according to Plummer (2014) in Social Work Case Studies: Concentration year. Steve, Brady’s father has become angrier and more alienated from his son not helping him through the grieving process since the passing of his mom, causing him to grieve the loss of both parents. After the initial assessment to see what stage of development Brady is, I would incorporate child therapy in the form of play therapy as this may be beneficial to help him relax and start making sense of his situation. Once rapport is built, bring into play the other techniques of drawing and creating a genogram as the social worker did in the case study, engaging Brady to think about who is the most important to him in his life, working down to who is the least important. This will help Brady organize his thoughts on each person and maybe share stories about why he placed them in the order he did for the genogram. This could lead to the sharing of fond memories, or the troublesome ones that surround his relationship with his father.

Possible risk factors for depression/suicidality

In the case of Brady, the biggest risk factor is the trauma of losing his parents at almost the same time. His mother passed away, gone for good, but his father checked out, not really seeing the trauma through his son’s eyes because his vision was clouded by only his loss. That trauma is enough to push Brady farther away and down that path of destructive thoughts and depression, unless someone notices the changes and gets him some help.

Intervention plan

My first goal would be to assess Brady for appropriate developmental stage appropriate intervention strategies. Then I would schedule sessions that are structured around that stage to help build him up from the low he is currently in. I would incorporate the use of many different tools to help teach him healthy coping skills, things like role play, puppets, or even empty chair therapy. After using the empty chair therapy to help him practice talking to his dad about his feelings, I would begin combined sessions, so that Steve can learn from his son how the loss has affected him and how he feels in that moment he lost his mother, he actually lost them both. I would continue to work with them until they have the balance that they need to be a constructive, beneficial family unit.

References

CDC (2021) Center for Disease Control. Anxiety and Depression in Children and Adolescents.

Plummer, S. -B., Makris, S., & Brocksen, S. M. (eds). (2014b). Social work case studies: Concentration year. Baltimore, MD: Laureate International Universities Publishing [Vital Source e-reader]. Working with Families: The Case of Brady (pp. 26-28)