The Transition House Blog

Children are often emotional and unpredictable. Sometimes, when children are confronted with new challenges or unfamiliar feelings, they may have difficulty coping with their emotions. Teaching coping skills to your children can go a long way in helping them overcome negative feelings. Use these coping skills when your child is feeling anxious or upset.

About 1 of every 20 adults in the U.S. has a serious mental illness, according to the National Institute on Mental Health. An estimated 1 of every 5 youth aged 13–18 experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. While those statistics are alarming, there is a new place where children and adults in Kissimmee can get on the road to recovery.

It’s not unusual for children to feel sad, angry or moody for short periods of time. However, when those feelings last longer than two weeks and interfere with daily activities, that child may be showing signs of depression.

Childhood depression is a growing issue in today's society. According to The National Institute of Mental Health, 11 percent of adolescents have a depressive disorder by the age of 18 and this is the leading cause of disability among Americans age 15 to 44. With children, it can sometimes be difficult to pinpoint if a behavior or behaviors being exhibited are related to a temporary phase he or she might be going through or because of true depression.

Issues with childhood depression, that go untreated, can turn into bigger issues as children grow into their adolescence and adulthood. 

• TTHI Counseling Center has found that expressive or creative arts therapy as a form of counseling for children is very effective. With this form of therapy, the focus is on the arts as a treatment for the illness, such as art, music, dance, writing, etc. Therapy using the arts may sometimes come across as a form of play, but it encourages the child to express themselves through their art and allows the therapist to understand the feelings of the patient beyond the scope of "play".