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Caring for Your Hurting Teen / Fostering Wellness and Growth — No Comments
24
Mar 25

Top 12 Coping Skills for Teens

/copingSkills.jpg“Explore new hobbies such as woodworking, painting, or jewelry making.”

Teens going through a tough depression or similar illness need ways to cope. Here are 12 of the top coping skills:

  1. Do a puzzle together.
  2. Watch an old television series while you play a simple card game. My daughter and I worked our way through Columbo, Murder She Wrote, and The Office.
  3. Go for a car ride with your teen in the passenger seat, listening to their favorite music; no talking. This can really soothe a teen in pain.
  4. If it’s been a bad day, suggest that they go to bed early. This almost always works.
  5. If shopping for clothes is too strenuous for them, do some Internet shopping. Having packages coming may give them something to look forward to.
  6. Go for a twenty-minute walk together.
  7. Bake something easy together.
  8. Suggest that they start or resume music lessons.
  9. Buy magazines that interest them.. Short articles require less energy than do books.
  10. See if they will go to a movie with a friend. It requires less conversation than other activities and is therefore less of a strain.
  11. Explore new hobbies such as woodworking or jewelry making. Browse through a crafts store to see what interests your teen.
  12. Adopt a pet through the humane society, preferably one already trained so that you don’t have the added stress of housebreaking.

You may be disappointed to discover that your teen has lost interest in an activity or sport they previously loved. It’s possible that they don’t have the level of concentration to pursue it right now. Their skill level may be so low compared to the way it was before the illness that they don’t have the heart to keep it up right now. Although you may be tempted to keep your teen involved so that they don’t lose ground, resist the urge. I know there’s the risk that they won’t return to it, but there is an equally good chance that they will find something new to master. Changing interests is a natural part of teen life anyway, so encourage them to try new things.

Caring for Your Hurting Teen / Troubling Issues — Comments Off on Changing Psychiatrists or Therapists Without Hurting Feelings
20
Feb 25

Changing Psychiatrists or Therapists Without Hurting Feelings

Teenager“Therapists know that comfort level is the most crucial qualification and will not take it personally.”

It can be awkward to leave a professional with whom you have established a relationship. Many parents don’t realize how worried therapists and psychiatrists get when a patient suddenly stops showing up. Mental health specialists appreciate the courtesy of being informed if they will not be seeing your teen again simply because they want the assurance that the teen will remain in treatment. A quick phone call is greatly appreciated.

If your teen has found a new therapist, call the previous one and thank her for her past work. You can provide a detail about the new person you have hired. For example, you can say that you thought your teen would do better with a male therapist or a therapist who practices your family’s religion. You can even simply say that your child hit it off better with a different therapist. Therapists know that comfort level is the most crucial qualification and will not take it personally.

If you are changing psychiatrists, I recommend the following approach, which I received on the advice of a new psychiatrist I hired for my daughter. Call the previous psychiatrist (you can leave a  message) and explain that you sought a second opinion. It is a nice courtesy to name the new psychiatrist. Then say that your teen felt really comfortable with this new person and that you are going to stick with her for a while, but that you hope she will remain open to letting your teen return if they change their mind. When I left this message, the psychiatrist went out of her way to say how much she appreciated me letting her know and that certainly I could bring my teen back anytime.

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