In this episode of Today's Teenager, Roy offers four tips that adults can employ in helping depressed teens. The first tip that Roy suggests is understanding that teenage depression is real and to validate that for teens. The second tip Roy recommends is that adults be patient with the seemingly contradictory emotions of teens, which can sometimes cause an adult to believe a young person is not really depressed.
Roy believes that perhaps the most important tip to helping depressed teens is to offer non - reactive and non - judgmental listening. Roy stresses that this kind of attentive, empathetic listening is crucial to helping a teen to feel that they aren't suffering alone and that their experiences are not at all unusual or abnormal. Finally, Roy recommends that adults get a depressed teen counseling from a reliable and professional source like private counselors, school counselors, pastoral counselors or ministers, social workers, psychologists, or pediatricians.
Click here to listen to previous episodes of Today's Teenager that can also aid in working with depressed teens:
Episode 15: What's Normal Vs. Abnormal Teen Behavior?
Episode 23: How Do I Find A Counselor For My Teen?
Episode 42: The Art of Listening To Teens
Episode 48: Teen Suicide Seeing The Signs To Prevent The Sorrow
Episode 49: Teen Suicide What Adults Can Do
Click here for Roy's various blog entries related to teen depression, anxiety, and effective listening to teens.
Roy encourages adults working with young people to take advantage of the resources offered by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention or AFSP. The AFSP's website can be found here and features a wide variety of resources helpful in addressing suicide as well as contact information for local ASFP charters. If you or someone you know is in crisis, you can reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HELLO to 741-741.
Today's Teenager podcast is produced for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended to nor should it be used as a replacement for professional counseling
Roy has established Today's Teenager as a non-profit organization dedicated to covering the expenses of therapy sessions and other mental health services for teens and families that would otherwise be unable to afford them. Visit todaysteenager dot com for more information.
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