Since the launch of BACK FROM THE BRINK TOO, I have been surprised by the number of parents who have contacted me who are struggling in knowing how to best help a young person with depression. I cover this in some depth in BFTBToo but I wanted to provide a few suggestions here which might be of some assistance.

It is a difficult area, as quite often, there are many social and hormonal things happening in a young person’s life that sometimes it can be diffiulct to separate normal “teenage blues” from a genuine threat to their mental health. The thing that separates clinical depression is a sustained low mood (often combined with changes in sleep patterns and eating habits) everyday for 2 weeks. If this threshold is crossed:

• Always take it seriously
• Encourage your child to seek help by providing a list of relevant contacts (see http://www.iambackfromthebrink.com/resources.html)
• If your teenager won’t ask for help and you are really worried, go to the GP yourself and ask advice.
• Show love and concern. They need to know they have this when they are going through tough times.
• Take time to listen when your teenager wants to talk about their feelings.
• Encourage them to do things they enjoy.
• Take threats of self harm extremely seriously and call the Suicide Callback Service  1300 659 467 or Lifeline immediately for advice 13 11 14
• Make sure you do not keep a gun in your home or shed (especially relevant for farmers)

Where to get help?

The following may be of assistance

• Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (or equivalent)
• your doctor
• parentline (see resources section for local phone number)
• community health centres
• psychologists
• school and/or youth counsellors

Some parents can sometimes be wary of bringing their concerns out into the open for fear of what others will think. It is important you don’t let this get in the way of finding the best support available for your child.

In BFTBToo I also share a headhunting (my previous profession) approach to finding the best person for your child.

Valuable resources

Reachout.com.au factsheets

http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=243&np=293&id=2157

As I found with my first book BACK FROM THE BRINK, first hand accounts of people overcoming depression are very powerful - it lets young people know others in there situation have overcome adversity. Reachout.com.au have a great list of these stories from young people. See:

http://www.reachout.com.au/index.asp?mci=11&mwi=1 

Other help sites  for parents trying to assist their children include:

http://www.headspace.org.au/parents-carers/

http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetails.aspx?p=243&np=293&id=2157

If anyone is aware of any other good resources for parents trying to help a young person with depression please let me know.

Kind Regards

Graeme

Tags: adolescent depression, effective treatments for depression, youth depression

Friends of mine have a child who experienced some very frightening psychotic episodes with their depression. They were very motivated and financially able to access the best support, but still found it incredibly difficult to find a competent doctor to advise them on the best course of action.

One in 12 children suffer from depression each year

In an article I have just linked to the News section of www.IamBackFromTheBrink.com it shows that 1 in 12 children between the ages of 12-17 in the US had a major episode of depression in the last year. So what are parents to do when faced with this very difficult issue?

In my new book, “Back from the Brink Too” (in bookshops in September) I give some insights based on my years working as a headhunter. In essence, a head hunter has the task of finding someone with a very definite set of skills and personal qualitites. My suggestions for finding the right mental health professional are:

Compile a list of people that can help you

Think of people or organisations that may know the right person, or may know a respected opinion leader who themselves may know the right person. This would include your GP, a clinical person at your local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, your child’s school counsellor, Parentline, the beyondblue helpline, and so on.

Prepare your script

This is a succinct way of describing the the type of person you are seeking. You want a brief one or two minute description of the situation and symptoms and the type of specialist you are seeking.

Make the calls

By going through this process you will hopefully start to get a few names. Remember to listen and probe.

“What makes Dr Smith so good?”

“If he is too busy, is there anyone else you would recommend?”

I’m not saying this will be easy, but as a loved one, the greatest service you can provide is getting them to a skilled specialist who can make an accurate diagnosis and prepare a treatment plan.

If you have any other tips on finding the right specialist help for an adolescent, I would love to hear them.

KInd Regards

Graeme

 

Tags: adolescent depression, adolescent psychiatrist, depression