Teenagers mental health issue....advice please.

ailuro2

getting away from a full blown debate on cranial osteopathy....

give him a notebook and get him to write down how he feels from day to day, get one that can be locked so only he can see what is written in it. As time goes on and he gets treatment encourage him to keep writing in it - that way he has somewhere to vent, something to look back on and realise some days are starting to get better etc.

Don't ever ask him if you can read it though, it should be kept absolutely private to him.

I'm glad the meeting went well, hope he's feeling better soon.

robpw2

as someone who suffers from mental health issues, i think its good that your getitng him help ,
It can take a lot to admit there is a problem and so your helping him on the way to deal with things .

minerva_windsong

As someone who had (albeit only ever touched upon by anyone approaching a professional) mental health problems as a teenager, I would say two things:

1) The sooner you get help, the less chance there is that this might affect his life severely and/or recurrently. I'm still getting depressive bouts almost ten years later, and I think that if if I'd had help when I was younger, I might be able to cope with it better now.

2) Counselling (if indeed that's what he needs/gets) is not just a sticking plaster, but for some people six sessions - and that doesn't just apply to the NHS, even with some charities/university counselling you only get six or eight sessions, I think mainly due to the cost - is not enough as the issues go too deep.

Very best wishes to both of you, I hope all goes well.

loulou123

As someone who has suffered mental health problems including PTSD (in both my teenage years and as a adult) i think you are definately doing the right thing by getting him help. I saw all sorts of mental health specialists - psychiarists, counsellers, CBT specialists, relaxation therapy and they were all wonderful and really good at what they do (although i admit a couple of the psychiatrists did make me feel uneasy.)

I kind of had to explain my situation to employers (as i had a long time off work on my CV to explain) but i really didnt feel it put people off employing me and as your son is so young i see no reason why he would need to tell future employers anyways.

gairlochgal

Hi - just to reassure you, I've been through something similar with my 12 yr old this year. She ended up not being able to get to school as she couldn't cope away from me. We had a CAMHS referral but I decided to find private psychotherapy as I was unhappy about the delay and it was all getting a bit too much. 3 sessions later, she's looking and feeling much better, has a lot of her independence back and is looking forward to starting back at school in Sept. We're leaving the therapy for the moment but have said she might go back for a top up when school comes back.

xxdeebeexx

gairlochgal wrote: »

Hi - just to reassure you, I've been through something similar with my 12 yr old this year. She ended up not being able to get to school as she couldn't cope away from me. We had a CAMHS referral but I decided to find private psychotherapy as I was unhappy about the delay and it was all getting a bit too much. 3 sessions later, she's looking and feeling much better, has a lot of her independence back and is looking forward to starting back at school in Sept. We're leaving the therapy for the moment but have said she might go back for a top up when school comes back.

Thank you for your reassurance. We have to wait until October for the first session, which seems ages. How did you find a private psychotherapist? I know DS is quite desperate to get back to normal and I am begining to find it very tricky at times too. I can't even hoover out the car without his 'help'.

Dx

gairlochgal

I found her through the professional body BACP. My daughter was very ready to talk, and got straight into it. Sounds like your son might be at same stage.