ARTICLES

Are We Trading Our Happiness for Modern Comforts?
As society gets richer, people chase the wrong things.
By Arthur C Brooks
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

Supporting Someone with Depression

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

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 >

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

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...

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

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