Category: Depression

Depression and Your Child

Depression and Your Child: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers, Reprint Edition, by Deborah Serani, PsyD, Professor at Adelphi University and author of Living with Depression. (2015)

Seeing your child suffer in any way is a harrowing experience for any parent. Mental illness in children can be particularly draining due to the mystery surrounding it, and the issue of diagnosis at such a tender age. Depression and Your Child gives parents and caregivers a uniquely textured understanding of pediatric depression, its causes, its symptoms, and its treatments. Serani weaves her own personal experiences of being a depressed child along with her clinical experiences as a psychologist treating depressed children.

Current research, treatments and trends are presented in easy to understand language and tough subjects like self-harm, suicide and recovery plans are addressed with supportive direction. Parents will learn tips on how to discipline a depressed child, what to expect from traditional treatments like psychotherapy and medication, how to use holistic methods to address depression, how to avoid caregiver burnout, and how to move through the trauma of diagnosis and plan for the future. Real life cases highlight the issues addressed in each chapter and resources and a glossary help to further understanding for those seeking additional information. Parents and caregivers are sure to find here a reassuring approach to childhood depression that highlights the needs of the child even while it emphasizes the need for caregivers to care for themselves and other family members as well.

Help for Kids Who Are Sad and Depressed

My Feeling Better Workbook: Help for Kids Who Are Sad and Depressed, by Sara Hamil LCSW. (2008)

There are many ways to help children who are sad and depressed, and you might not even realize how much you can do to make your child feel better. By working through this book, guiding your child through just one activity a day, you can empower him or her with the skills necessary to overcome sadness and low self-esteem and live an active, joyful life.

The forty-two simple activities in this workbook help kids explore their feelings and combat the negative self-talk that depletes their motivation and self-esteem. Based on cognitive behavioral therapy, play therapy, and art therapy, this series of activities is designed to help children cope with painful feelings and feel happy again. Studies have shown that teaching these social and emotional skills to children at the onset of their depression can prevent it from becoming more serious in adolescence and beyond. Once children learn these skills, they will not only feel better, but also become more self-confident, capable, and willing to enjoy the best of what life has to offer.

Memoirs of a Suicide’s Daughter

By Her Own Hand: Memoirs of a Suicide’s Daughter, by Signe Hammer. (1991)

This powerful and sometimes harrowing book is an inquest into the mystery of the suicide of the author’s mother, as well as an account of suicide’s effect on its survivors–especially children. “Beautifully told . . . a sobering, eloquent account . . . honest and courageous”.    –San Francisco Chronicle.