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This is a real interview with the caregiver of a six-year-old boy diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He and his caregivers engaged with a course of Child Parent Psychotherapy (CPP), followed by Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). Participating in the METRIC Grant, his treatment included work with himself, his pre-adoptive foster parents, and his biological mother. Prior to living with his current family, he experienced a tumultuous life, witnessing violence in the home with biological parents and being moved between multiple foster care homes.

It’s incredibly difficult to know what the right thing to do is when you have a child or a teen who is experiencing depression. It can be hard to talk openly about scary topics like self-harm and suicide, and caregivers often wonder if mentioning them is the appropriate thing to do at all.

A common mental health myth is that only adults and older adolescents can be depressed. In fact, kids and younger teens may experience depression too. In 2018-2019, 15% of adolescents reported experiencing a major depressive episode and 37% reported experiencing persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. Depression presents differently person to person and often is not just someone who seems really sad or down. In fact, for kids and teens, depression can look quite different. Depression spans a variety of symptom presentations including persistent tiredness, irritability, behavioral outbursts, isolation, and more.

A new school year means a new team of teachers and school professionals to partner with you in supporting your child. For caregivers with children experiencing mental health issues, communicating with the school team can be useful for ensuring everyone is on the same page. Teachers and school counselors often have insights to success and challenges kids experience at school that parents may not be aware of. Keeping the line of communication open and healthy is key. Here are some ways to engage with your kid’s school team about their mental health in a respectful and productive way.

Kids must go back to school every year once summer wraps, so why can it feel so hard for the whole family each time it comes around? Even though most of the year is taken up by school, the transition back can often feel challenging for kids and parents for a variety of reasons. For kids, going back to school means new teachers, new kids in their classes, and maybe even harder homework or more time spent away from family. For parents, it means managing a new routine, communicating with school professionals, and for some, getting back into a rigorous extracurricular activity schedule with their kids.