Parent Resources

Diagnosing children with juvenile or pediatric bipolar disorder is largely an American phenomenon. Do we actually have more “bipolar” children in the United States—or are we simply labeling more of them as such? If it is ever fair to call a child “manic,” isn’t the child’s environment the direction in which we should look?

Some time ago, a pediatrician that I respect greatly stopped by my office to chat.  In the midst of the conversation, he smiled, and spontaneously mentioned that he had seen a rash of a particular condition lately.  When I inquired what it was, he stated Helpless Parent Syndrome.

From The New York Times: The city’s lead crisis has migrated from its homes to its schools, where neurological and behavioral problems — real or feared — among students are threatening to overwhelm the education system.

National data on rates of youth antidepressant prescription, suicide, and self-harm in Australia sparks public health debate about drug safety.

A clinical trial finds Prozac no better than placebo for improving repetitive behaviors.

A new study suggests proximity to green space as a child is linked to lower rates of mental health issues in adulthood.

From ProPublica Illinois: “There’s not a whole lot that tells a kid you don’t matter [more] than keeping them locked up in a psych ward for no reason other than there’s nowhere to place them for months on end."

One of the HVN's fundamental principles is that "the person having these experiences is in the best position to decide or discover what they mean" and thus each person must "not try to speak for" another. The challenge for a family group will likely be for members to move past speaking about our loved ones to find or imagine the space where we ourselves are liberated.

From Intellectual Takeout: When children have educational experiences that aren't geared to their developmental level, it causes them feelings of inadequacy, anxiety and confusion.

A new study has found that children and adolescents taking a high dose of antipsychotics are almost twice as likely to die of any cause than children on other types of medications.

For me, writing is a powerful tool for wellness and healing, whether that involves an escape into science fiction or simply putting my dreams, emotions, memories, and observations on paper.

Researchers find improvements in stress-related outcomes among middle school students exposed to a school-based mindfulness training program.

Dog assisted psychotherapy is mostly used within the psychodynamic theory. It's especially useful in treatment with children and adolescents, where dogs seems to pass "under the radar" of children's logical defense.

Researchers discuss the evidence that antipsychotic medications may cause brain atrophy in children, whose brains are still developing.

What physical activity-based programs are being implemented in schools, how are they being researched, and what kind of impact have they made?

Doctors refuse to believe psychiatric medications have caused my sibling, Pat, any harm.  Over a three-year period, however, Pat's insurance companies have paid out more than one million dollars to warehouse Pat and to provide "treatment" that has caused complete disability.

The voices were extraordinary; in a way, they were like ghosts. I could not see them, but only divine them by the turmoil they stirred up in Annie. They were not polite house ghosts who knew when to leave; they were ne’er-do-wells she could not get rid of. They were tormentors and torturers, testing the limits of her sanity, blackmailing her into submission.

An interview with Jodi Aman, LCSW, a psychotherapist and coach who has more than 20 years of experience working with children, their parents, and helpers. She is the author of the book Anxiety....I'm So Done With You: A Teen’s Guide to Ditching Toxic Stress & Hardwiring Your Brain For Happiness

The addition of fluoxetine to CBT did not further reduce depressive symptoms in young people with moderate-to-severe depression.

It is good that the general public is finally hearing about the ACE Study, but I do not count on U.S. politicians to address the core implications of the ACE findings—the need to re-make U.S. society so as to (1) prevent preventable adverse childhood experiences, and (2) create a society in which healing from trauma can more easily occur.

This series of thirty video interviews with leading experts from around the world is designed to help parents better understand how to raise strong, resilient kids and how to deal with the pressures exerted on them by the current dominant “mental disorder” paradigm. We hope that this interview series will provide helpful ideas that you may not be able to get anywhere else. The interviews can be found HERE.

The Resilience Investment, Support, and Expansion (RISE) From Trauma Act, legislation designed to increase support for children who have been exposed to Adverse Childhood Experiences, includes $50 million in funding for a “mental health in schools” program. Exactly what these programs would entail remains unclear.

Greater perceptions of discrimination during adolescence are linked to more depressive and internalizing symptoms.

From HERE This NOW: Advances in science in the last thirty years help us realize the fallacy of "mind over matter," yet we still hold an entrenched belief that children and adults possess 100% conscious control over their behavior.

A new study suggests the way that marginalized youth view the mental health treatment they have received plays a role in the continuation of their care once they reach adulthood.