Need a hand here guys, hope there are enough parents on here that might have some recommendations. Just heard from a friend of mine that they are having some issues with a depressed teenager(big surprise right?), they feel she may be suicidal and she wont talk to any of the adults in her family about it. they are concerned(rightfully) and want to see if maybe she will talk to a therapist trained to deal with kids in their teens. They just dont know where to start in looking for one they can afford(middle class family without insurance that will cover mental issues). thats where you guys and gals come in, I have no experience in this area, but I want to help em out, these are good people who just want their daughter to be happy. This is a serious thread guys, so please do me a favor and leave the jokes and stupid crap out of it.
The first thing I would do, if they haven't already, is take the teenager for a complete physical. The works. There just might be a chemical imbalance or some other physical issue behind some of the behavior. If they find nothing, then you go from there. In Austin, I'd suggest the Dell Children's Hospital. It's excellent and they have people on staff for similar kinds of problems. I'm assuming that Houston has a lot more available than Austin does along those lines. Dell accepts children from parents who have no insurance. While the wait can be considerable (no surprise there!), surely the parents could explain the situation to the doctor they end up seeing (privately, without the teenager), so that if no physical problem is found, they know to delve further and do a psychiatric evaluation. Is there no family doctor to guide them, insurance or not? It's rough, if there isn't, but I think it can be handled. Just some suggestions. I wish them luck. -
Counselling in any form is relatively inexpensive for teenagers as opposed to outright therapy. It will also probably try and tackle real issues instead of force meds down their throats. I know it did wonders for me.
I'll take him to an Astros game. Give me the address and I will pick up in my van. Without insurance I would suggest school counselors.
I've been to a psychologist and psychiatry for feeling depressed, I found the psychologist to be much more personal, and the psychiatrist to be more of an analyzer of any disease rather than someone whom I could talk to. But perhaps that's just my personal experience. I digress though, my parent found mine by asking my pediatrician for a recommendation. That might be the best bet.
yeah...don't think this would work. Fire and brimstone isn't going to help this kid. Counseling, stay away from the meds
