In Utah, it is the number one cause of death in for individuals 15 - 44 years old. A high school with a population of 2,000 students can expect 50 attempted suicides per year. And yet depression and other affective disorders continue to be an area primarily ignored by the public schools. One of the factors that make depression so difficult to diagnose in adolescents is the common behavior change that are normally associated with the hormonal changes of this period. It has only been in recent years that the medical community has acknowledged childhood depression and viewed it as a condition, which requires intervention. Various therapies have been used with adolescent depression. Psychoanalytical therapies target the unconscious conflicts resulting in the depression. Behavior therapies design reinforcement programs to change behavior patterns. Cognitive therapies look to improve and examine met cognition and increase more positive thought patterns. Unfortunately it is harder to medically treat adolescent depression than adult depression because adolescents are less likely to respond to the medication. Therefore, alternative treatments such as counseling have proven more successful. Physicians will prescribe anti-depressant medication to a depressed adolescent, but if that child appears suicidal, a psychological counselor will also become