Depression is a medical disorder that occurs in adolescents & young adults much more commonly than many think. The symptoms most commonly seen, failure to enjoy normal activities, withdrawal from usual social groups, depressed mood, excessive sleeping & fatigue, weight changes & often dramatic changes in school performance, are often attributed to “normal teenage behavior” and not taken seriously. Parents, teachers and medical providers downplay the symptoms so the condition is often undiagnosed or undertreated. In severe cases, depression can result in suicide.

There are also several other mental health illnesses that appear frequently in the adolescent/young adult age range: eating disorders ranging from anorexia to binge eating disorder, bipolar disease, substance abuse, ADHD & new onset schizophrenia.

Many times the initial symptoms are subtle & can easily be missed by physicians because treating 14-25 year olds is usually not the focus of a practice and the important questions that need to be asked are either not asked at all or are ignored in the setting of a busy practice that focuses either on younger children or older adults. Many primary care physicians are also reluctant to prescribe medication when indicated because of concerns regarding reports of increased suicide in teens when antidepressant therapy was begun. In reality, the warning, added to the medication information in 2003, warns of the concern and need for close follow-up when antidepressants are prescribed in teens. The result of this warning and reluctance to prescribe medication is thought to be the major contributor to the 18% increase in suicide in youth younger between 2003 & 2004.

Dr. Bowers worked with students with these illnesses either alone or in collaboration other mental health professionals when appropriate during her entire career and is qualified and comfortable continuing to do so in a private practice setting.