Assignment: Assessing and Treating Pediatric Patients with Mood Disorders

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In the given scenario, the client is an 8-year-old African American male who
arrives at the ER with his mother. He is exhibiting signs of depression. The patient complained of
feeling "sad", the mother reports that the teacher said the child is withdrawn from peers in class,
decreased appetite, and occasional irritation periods. The client reached all developmental
landmarks at appropriate ages. Laboratory studies are within the normal range. The child was
referred to psychiatry for evaluation.
The patient is alert, oriented x 3, clear, coherent, goal-directed, spontaneous. The selfreported
mood was "sad." Affect was somewhat blunted but smiled appropriately at various
points throughout the clinical interview. He denies visual and auditory hallucinations. No
delusional or paranoid thought processes were noted. Judgment and insight appear to be ageappropriate.
He is not endorsing active suicidal ideation but does admit that he often thinks about
himself being dead and what it would be like to be dead