Helpful Books, Articles & Videos
FOR PARENTS, TEACHERS, AND PROVIDERS
As parents, teachers, and providers, we need tools and information in order to support our youth struggling with mental health challenges. Below is a list of recommendations that have come from parents in the community that they have found useful on their journey.
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ARTICLES
- Teens in Covid Isolation: ‘I Felt Like I Was Suffocating’
New York Times, By Emma Goldberg READ ARTICLE
- - Teens Did Surprisingly Well in Quarantine
More sleep and family time—and less social media—may have made the difference.
The Atlantic, By Jean M. Twenge READ ARTICLE
- - The reality of Covid-19 is hitting teens especially hard
By Christopher Null READ ARTICLE
- - How to Talk To Kids About Coronavirus, Keeping your own anxiety in check is key.
New York Times, By Jessica Grose READ ARTICLE
- - Quaranteenagers: Strategies for Parenting in Close Quarters
Because of coronavirus, teenagers are missing out on major rites of passage. Offering compassion paves their way toward feeling better.
New York Times, By Lisa Damour READ ARTICLE
TIPS...
- Rooted In Love VIEW VIDEO
Mike issues a call to action for all of us, in this unprecedented time, to find ways to build community, take care of one another, and stay rooted in love. - Managing Anxiety Around COVID-19, Tips for You and Your School Community
READ TIPS
- - Practical Strategies to Help Young People Face Anxiety
By Fuller Youth Institute READ TIPS
- - Support For Teens and Young Adults
By the CDC READ TIPS
- - Coronavirus: Mental Health Coping Strategies
By NAMI READ TIPS
ARTICLES
Find helpful articles on the Child-Mind Institute blog >
The Millennial Mental-Health Crisis
Suicides and overdoses among young adults were already skyrocketing before the pandemic started. Now experts fear that the situation is going to get even worse.
The Atlantic, By Olga Khazan READ ARTICLE
Are We Trading Our Happiness for Modern Comforts?
As society gets richer, people chase the wrong things.
The Atlantic, By Arthur C Brooks READ ARTICLE
Mental Illness vs. Autism and Other Developmental Disorders
article
Number of children going to ER with suicidal thoughts, attempts doubles, study finds
By Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, CNN article
Why Are So Many Teen Athletes Struggling With Depression?
By Linda Flanigan article
There’s no evidence that hardening schools to make kids safer from gun violence actually works
By Valerie Strauss article
Why I Don’t Say My Son ‘Committed’ Suicide article
By Desiree Woodland
Teen Depression and Anxiety: Why the Kids Are Not Alright article
By Susanna Schrobsdorff / TIME
It’s Not Stigma, It’s Discrimination article
By Sue Abderholden
Pittsburgh researchers may have found 'cure' for some untreatable depression, article
By Sean D. Hamill / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Binge Breaker • Tristan Harris believes Silicon Valley is addicting us to our phones. He’s determined to make it stop. article
By Bianca Bosker / The Atlantic
Is Your Child a Phone ‘Addict’? article
By Ana Homayoun / New York Times
How (and When) to Limit Kids' Tech Use article
By Melanie Pinola / New York Times
Don’t Retire Too Soon: Parenting During The Adolescent Years article
When the State of the World Overwhelms You article
strategies we can adopt that can help us stay strong and centered
By Carolyn Joyce
Why Borderline Personality Disorder Is Misdiagnosed, article
By Alan E. Fruzzetti, Ph.D.
‘13 Reasons Why’ Through the Lens of A Clinical Psychologist, article
By Amy E. Ellis, Ph.D.
Stop chasing the drug! Focus on ACE's, article
By Jane Stevens
Girls Daring Greatly, article
By Sabrina Marie Hadeed
Going Wild, article
By Bethany Bray
Mental Health In Schools: A Hidden Crisis Affecting Millions Of Students, article
By Meg Anderson & Kavitha Cardoza
Part One – NPR Ed series on mental health in schools.
Staying Connected While Your Child Is Away at Wilderness Camp, article
By Meghan Vivo
Why College Dating Is So Messed Up? article
By Charlotte Lieberman, Cosmopolitan
Ivy League Addiction, article
By Charlotte Lieberman, Cosmopolitan, Sept. 2016
The Coddling of the American Mind, article
By Greg Lukianoff & Jonathan Haidt, The Atlantic
Why Did a Popular, Smart, Athletic College Freshman Kill Herself? article
By NICOLE WEISENSEE EGAN
Suicide on Campus and the Pressure of Perfection, article
By Julie Scelfo, NY Times
How to help someone who is suicidal article
by Jason Cherkis
Are Kids' Sports Too Competitive? article
By Carol Mithers, Parenting
Unfriended; letter from mom to daughter, article
By Amanda Waggener
How Helicopter Parenting Can Cause Binge Drinking, article
By Caitlin Flanigan / The New Yorker
Affirmative Consent: Are Students Really Asking? article
By Sandy Keenan, NY Times
The Struggle with Struggling: Mental Health Awareness Month article
By Allie Marie Smith
A siblings' Guide to Psychosis article
By Sharon Mulder, Elizabeth Lines
Four Steps to Choosing a College Major article
By Nathan Gebhard, NY Times
The Real Skinny on Freshman Year article
By Michelle Slatalla, NY Times
Advice for New Students From Those Who Know (Older Students) article
By NY Times
10 Social Apps Every Parent of a Teen Should Know article
By Megan Maas
Building Resilience in Children, article
By Healthy Children Magazine
Professional Parenting; Raising fully functioning adults, article
By Luis Moro
Shutting Down Five Misconceptions About Depression article
By Caroline Kaufman
Suicide Rates Climb In U.S., Especially Among Adolescent Girls… article & 3 min podcast
NPR
Food For the Brain
Websites with information on how food can make a difference with your moods…
Useful apps...
- MY3 • you can be prepared to help yourself and reach out to others when you are having thoughts of suicide.
- notOK • digital panic button to get you immediate support via text, phone call, or GPS location when you’re struggling to reach out.
Daylio • Self-Care Bullet Journal with Goals Mood Diary & Happiness Tracker- MindShift CBT - Anxiety Relief • self-help anxiety relief app that helps you reduce worry, stress, and panic by following evidence-based strategies. Using CBT tools, you can challenge negativity, learn more about anxiety, develop more effective ways of thinking, be mindful, and relax.
- What's Up? • utilising some of the best CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) and ACT (Acceptance Commitment Therapy) methods to help you cope with Depression, Anxiety, Anger, Stress and more!
- Headspace: Meditation & Sleep • choose from hundreds of guided meditations on everything from managing stress and anxiety to sleep, focus, and mind-body health. $12.99 per month
Su versión más saludable: Herramientas de bienestar >>
Use nuestras herramientas de bienestar para buscar formas de mejorar su bienestar en cualquier área que desee.
Emotional Wellness Checklist
Emotional wellness is the ability to successfully handle life’s stresses and adapt to change and difficult times.
Physical Wellness Checklist
Positive physical health habits can help decrease your stress, lower your risk of disease and increase your energy.
Social Wellness Checklist
Positive social habits can help you build support systems and stay healthier.
Environmental Wellness Checklist
What surrounds you each day in your home, work, or neighborhood can affect your health
8 TYPES OF WELLNESS...
- Emotional
- Physical
- Social
- Intellectual
- Spiritual
- Environmental
- Financial
- Occupational
Supporting Someone with Depression
Videos to help you understand depression…
- "Finding Hope: Battling America's Suicide Crisis," is a CNN Special Report hosted by Anderson Cooper. VIEW
- - Know the Signs video & facts >>
- 9 best way to support someone with depression >>
- PBS Videos on Depression >>
- Teen connection videos >>
- Preventing and Addressing Teenage Depression >>
- Hope Lives: Prevention Teen Suicide
- The FACTS, ReachOut.com >>
printable sheets on depression, anxiety, substance use, eating, self-harm, etc… - REAL Stories, ReachOut.com >>
- I am worried about a FRIEND, fact sheet >>
- I am worried about MYSELF, fact sheet >>
- Getting HELP in a CRISIS >>
- ReachOut Videos >>
- Friend2Friend >>
Online, interactive experience. It prepares high schools students to support others by practicing a challenging conversation with a friend who may be suffering from psychological distress.
Suicide Prevention Videos & Stigma for Students
The Anxiety and Phobia Workbook
by Edmund J. Bourne view
Anxiety Relief For Teens
by Regine Galanti PhD view
Mental Health for the Whole Child: Moving Young Clients from Disease & Disorder to Balance & Wellness
By Scott M. Shannon
The Triple Bind: Saving Our Teenage Girls from Today's Pressures and Conflicting Expectations
By Stephen Hinshaw & Rachel Kranz
The Disappearing Girl: Learning the Language of Teenage Depression
By Lisa Machoian
An Unquiet Mind
By Kay Redfield Jamison
CBT Strategies for Anxious and Depressed Children and Adolescents: A Clinician's Toolkit
By Eduardo L. Bunge PhD, Javier Mandil, Andrés J. Consoli PhD, Martín Gomar Lic
Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder
By Paul Mason
Night Falls Fast: Understanding Suicide
By Kay Redfield Jamison
The Noonday Demon: An Atlas of Depression
By Andrew Solomon
The Parent Handbook on Childhood and Adolescent Depression (Free PDF)
By Erika's Lighthouse
I Am Not Sick, I Don't Need Help!
How to Help Someone with Mental Illness Accept Treatment.
By Xavier Amador
Additional READS Recommended by Erika's Lighthouse >
Beyond Addiction: How Science and Kindness Help People Change
By Jeffrey Foote, Carrie Wilkens, Nicole Kosanke, Stephanie Higgs
The Lost Years: Surviving a Mother and Daughter's Worst Nightmare
By Kristina Wandzilak & Constance Curry
Help Your Teenager Beat an Eating Disorder
By James Lock
The Biology of Desire: Why Addiction Is Not a Disease
By Marc Lewis
The Connected Child: Bring hope and healing to your adoptive family
By Karyn Purvis
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead
By Brené Brown
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
By Bessel Van der Kolk
Carry On, Warrior: The Power of Embracing Your Messy, Beautiful Life
By Glennon Doyle Melton
Facing Codependence: What It Is, Where It Comes from, How It Sabotages Our Lives
By Pia Mellody
The Knight in Rusty Armor
By Robert Fisher
Choice Theory: A New Psychology of Personal Freedom
By William Glasser
Mindfulness Skills for Kids & Teens: A Workbook for Clinicians & Clients
By Debra Burdick
ARTICLES
Digital Wellness tips and a Digital Flourishing Wheel >>
by Digital Wellness Collective
Is Your Child a Phone ‘Addict’? article
By Ana Homayoun / New York Times
How (and When) to Limit Kids' Tech Use article
By Melanie Pinola / New York Times
10 Social Apps Every Parent of a Teen Should Know article
By Megan Maas
What is Digital Harassment? - video >>
7 Reasons cell phone contracts won’t work >>
Should my child be on social media? >>
Apps to watch out for in 2019 >>
Technology & teen dating violence >>
Tips for youth & parents with cyberbullying >>
Parents of Young Children: Put Down Your Smartphones >>
Adverse Effects of Media on Children & Teens >>
QUIZ: Smartphone compulsion >>
BOOKS
It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens
By Dana Boyd
The Mirror Effect: How Celebrity Narcissism Is Seducing America
By Drew Pinsky & S. Mark Young
UnSelfie: Why Empathetic Kids Succeed in Our All-About-Me World
By Michele Borba article
STARTING THE CONVERSATIONS WITH YOUR TEEN
YouthWell COMMUNICATION & ACTIVE LISTENING TIPS WITH TEENS
SAMPLE DIGITAL CONTRACTS
Sample contracts you can use to set up boundaries around screens in the house
YOUTH CELL PHONE FAMILY CONTRACT
SCREEN TIME BOUNDARIES CONTRACT
STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING ONLINE DANGER
PARENTAL CONTROLS
iPhone Apple Parental Controls video >>
6 Best Parental Controls for Android video >>
Find hidden apps (vault) on phone video >>
Managing Cell Phone Restrictions >>
VIDEOS (great clips & overviews with teen perspectives)
NETFLIX: The Social Dilemma
Video: Social Media, Social Life: Teens Reveal Their Experiences
Video: SCREENAGERS (Official Trailer) Probes into the vulnerable corners of family life, including the director's own, and depicts messy struggles, over social media, video games, academics and internet addiction.
Video: New study links phone use and mental health issues in teens
Video: What is Digital Harassment?
GAMING
Gaming, understanding overuse & addiction, physical effects >>
Understanding video game violence - video >>
How virtual violence impacts children's behavior plus tips >>
Right Click: Parenting Your Teenager In A Digital Media World
by Art Bamford, Kara Powell, Brad M Griffin
Torn: Rescuing the Gospel from the Gays-vs.-Christians Debate
By Justin Lee
Tough Guys and Drama Queens: How Not to Get Blindsided by Your Child's Teen Years
By Mark Gregston
Space At The Table: Conversations Between An Evangelical Theologian And His Gay Son
By Brad Harper
Connecting with college students over break: they’re bringing home more than their laundry
By Steve Argue, PhD
Letting Go: A Parents' Guide to Understanding the College Years
By Karen Levin Coburn & Madge Lawrence Treeger
The Naked Roommate: For Parents Only
By Harlan Cohen
You're On Your Own (But I am Here if you Need Me): Mentoring Your Child During the College Years
By Marjorie Savage
**Recommended by other parents...
The Parallel Process - Growing Alongside Your Adolescent or Young Adult Child in Treatment
By Krissy Pozatek
The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict
By The Arbinger Institute
The Parenting Pyramid
By Arbinger Institute
Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life
By Marshall B. Rosenberg
The Journey of the Heroic Parent
By Brad Reedy
Screamfree Parenting: The Revolutionary Approach to Raising Your Kids by Keeping Your Cool
By Hal Edward Runkel
Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back When Someone You Care About Has Borderline Personality Disorder
By Paul Mason
The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed
By Jessica Lahey
An Unchanged Mind: The Problem of Immaturity in Adolescence
By John McKinnon
The Triple Bind: Saving Our Teenage Girls from Today's Pressures and Conflicting Expectations
By Stephen Hinshaw & Rachel Kranz
Overloaded and Underprepared: Strategies for Stronger Schools and Healthy, Successful Kids
By Denise Pope
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma
By Bessel Van der Kolk
Cutting: Understanding and Overcoming Self-Mutilation
By Steven Levenkron
Fiction Books on Self-Harm
It can help as a parent to read a fiction book on self harm to have a better understanding of the thought process of your teen and the lengths they go through to keep their secret. See other book suggestions farther down under the Teens & Children section of this page.
- Willow by Julia Hoban
- Blade Silver: Color Me Scarred by Melody Carlson
The Courage to Heal: A Guide for Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
By Ellen Bass
GOOD READS TEENS...
Beyond the Blues: A Workbook to Help Teens Overcome Depression
By Lisa Schab
Ophelia Speaks: Adolescent Girls Write About Their Search for Self
By Sara Shandler
How to Deal: Real-World Tools for Surviving Your Teenage Years
By Jerry Weichman
GOOD READS TEEN FICTION...
It's Kind of Funny Story
By Ned Vizzini
The Language of Goldfish
By Zibby Oneal
A Corner Of The Universe
By Ann Martin
Thirteen Reasons Why
By Jay Asher
Speak
By Laurie Halse Anderson
Wintergirls
By Laurie Halse Anderson
Out of My Mind
By Sharon M Draper
George
By Alex Gino
Wild Bird
By Wendelin Van Draanen
GOOD READS YOUTH...
Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key
By Jack Gantos
It's Hard to be a Verb
By Julia Cook & Carrie Hartman
When Sophie Gets Angry - Really, Really Angry
By Molly Bang
Sorry!
By Trudy Ludwig
My Many Colored Days
By Dr. Seuss
My Secret Bully
By Trudy Ludwig
How Are You Peeling?
By Saxton Freymann
Little Mouse's Big Book of Fears
By Emily Gravett
Just Kidding
By Trudy Ludwig
The Feelings Book
By Todd Parr
Gruff The Grump
By Steve Smallman
Chrysanthemum
By Kevin Henkes
The Way I Feel
By Janan Cain
Not by Chance: How Parents Boost Their Teen's Success In and After Treatment
By Tim Thayne
The Road Home: A Guide for Parents with Teens or Young Adults Returning from Treatment
By Ruben Jimenez
GOOD READS...
Teenage Brains, article
By David Dobbs, National Geographic
The Female Brain
By Louann Brizendine
Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain
By Daniel J. Siegel
Unchanged Mind: The Problem of Immaturity in Adolescence
by John A. McKinnon MD
Overloaded and Underprepared: Strategies for Stronger Schools and Healthy, Successful Kids
By Denise Pope
contact us
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