ABSTRACT
“Depression and anxiety to some degree are ubiquitous in adolescence and can be regarded as part of normal adolescent development”. By depression mean a disturbance in the mood and behaviour of the adolescent: a significant lowering of mood, with feelings of sadness, lessened energy and interest in others and the outside world, and an increased tendency to experience frustration usually with himself or herself, though this may be externalised onto the parents. Most anxiety in older adolescents is related to their bodies. The normal bodily changes that occur in adolescence are often a great source of anxiety to the young person, who has to adapt to them without always feeling equipped or prepared to do so and who is “taken by surprise” by some of these changes which are both feared and wanted. Adolescents need to be able to act in the world and have experiences in relationships which can mitigate some of their developmental anxieties.
