How To!

How To Parent Your Depressed Teen

Dr. Christine Moutier on creating a space for families to talk about mental health.

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Episode Notes

As Kate’s teenage son, Sam, approached college she noticed him withdrawing. He wasn’t excited about his future and started to show symptoms of major depression. It came to a crisis point one summer night before Sam was set to leave for school. In the weeks and months that followed, Sam struggled to navigate the mental health system in search of care. And Kate? Kate was left wondering how she could help her son without being overbearing. On this episode of How To!, guest host Carvell Wallace brings on Dr. Christine Moutier, psychiatrist and the chief medical officer for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. She advises Kate and all of us on how to be appropriately supportive, especially when things get to a scary place. She also reveals how she coped when her own teenager experienced a mental health crisis.

Resources:
If you or anyone you know is in crisis, dial 988 or text TALK to 741741.
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
AFSP’s Real Conversation Guides

If you liked this episode, check out: “How To Stop Being Anxious

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Podcast production by Derek John, Rosemary Belson, and Kevin Bendis.

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About the Show

What if Dear Abby were an investigative reporter? Each week, Amanda Ripley and Carvell Wallace take on listeners’ toughest problems and, with the help of experts, find the answers to questions you’ve always wanted to ask but couldn’t. Until now.

Do you have a problem that needs solving? Have you found the advice on our podcast helpful? Send us a note at howto@slate.com or leave us a voicemail at 646-495-4001 and we might play it on the air.

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Host

  • Carvell Wallace is a New York Times bestselling author, contributing writer to the NYT Magazine and a former Slate parenting columnist and co-host of Mom and Dad Are Fighting. He also hosted the Finding Fred podcast and writes for GQ, Esquire, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, and other outlets.