Your teenager has
been diagnosed with a mood disorder and the clinician is talking with
her or him about treatment. What is your role as a parent in the
shared decision making model? How can you participate?
October 11, 2018 marks National Depression Screening Day, a
prompt for people with concerns about their mental wellbeing to take advantage
of nearby in-person screening opportunities and get connected to local
resources. Participating in a screening day made all the difference for 25-year-old
Monica, whose mother told her to go take a screening or she’d take her there
herself.
Maribel C. Ibrahim, Co-Founder and Operations Director
Start School Later, Inc.
If you are a California resident or a consumer of national news, you may have heard about a bill awaiting Governor Jerry Brown’s signature. The bill doesn’t deal with class sizes, instructional curricula, or testing standards, but it may provide an unprecedented way to deal with a longstanding and national-recognized health issue among students. It has to do with sleep.
In order to reverse the trend in youth and adolescent suicide rates, we need to implement effective interventions to prevent depression. Though that remains a challenge for the population as a whole, there are vulnerable subgroups – including socioeconomically disadvantaged, sexual minority, and racial and ethnic minority youth – for whom it is not clear that common preventive interventions are effective. There is a reason we don’t know this: we’re not doing enough to find out.
Last week, Dr. Donna Holland Barnes discussed the horrific upward trend of suicide rates among very young Black males, ages 5-11. We know that one of the key strategies in preventing youth depression and depression symptoms–often precursors to suicidal ideation–is to use early interventions that help to develop resilience, coping and communication skills, and capacity for emotional expression. Dr. Barnes notes that there are some excellent programs for introducing coping mechanisms but, unfortunately, funding and access limit their implementation in schools.
You Care, Help Share During Mental Health Awareness Month Families for Depression Awareness
For Mental Health Awareness Month, Families for Depression Awareness has launched #YouCareHelpShare, a campaign to provide education and encouragement to family caregivers. Through the distribution of caregiver education materials and a social media awareness campaign, we aim to help caregivers all across the U.S. get the support, information, and resources they need to be effective partners in care.
The importance of caregivers
Caregivers of people with depression or bipolar disorder play a crucial role in their loved ones’ lives. Parents, spouses, siblings, and other close connections are pivotal in recognizing a problem, accessing care, and lending sup...
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