There are many great adolescent depression books for parents to read to understand their children. And, some of them have been highly rated by reviewers. They cover the full range of emotions and situations that can lead to depression in adolescents, from the basics of diagnosing and managing the condition to more specific advice on addressing specific symptoms. Parental support is key in helping a teenager with depression recover from their condition.
24 best adolescent depression books for parents to understand their kids
I’ve compiled a collection of parenting literature about adolescent depression below. While there isn’t a single parenting manual, there are some that can serve as small lights, nudging us in the direction of something that might be helpful. Check out this extensive list of adolescent depression books for parents and obtain a better understanding of the issue. The children need us to be champions and allies.
1. Lonely, Sad, and Angry: A Parent’s Guide to Depression in Children and Adolescents by Barbara Ingersoll & S. Goldstein
This is among excellent adolescent depression books for parents. It covers diagnosis, causes, and interventions for depression in children and adolescents, as well as some useful appendices.
2. A Parent’s Guide for Suicidal and Depressed Teens: Help for Recognizing if a Child is in Crisis and What to do about it by Kate Williams.
To educate readers on what it’s like to experience suicidal depression and what they can do, the mother of a kid who attempted suicide wrote this book. It has a ton of great information and is simple to read. If your child is mild to seriously depressed, you should have this book. Focusing on taking care of oneself as a parent is an intriguing part.
3. A Parent Guide to Hair Pulling Disorder: Effective Parenting Strategies for Children with Trichotillomania (Formerly “Stay Out of My Hair”) by Ruth Goldfinger Golomb Lcpc, Suzanne Mouton-Odum
This is a manual for parents of children who have trichotillomania that explains the nature and causes of the condition as well as treatments and ways to get help. The book also discusses the unique difficulties parents face in dealing with this poorly known and misunderstood behavior, which is prevalent in kids and teenagers.
4. Adolescent Depression: A Guide for Parents By Francis Mark Mondimore And Patrick Kelly
This book is a crucial introduction with chapters on terminology, diagnosis, and various treatments. It is especially useful for caregivers who are unfamiliar with the mental health system. But anyone trying to comprehend the depressed kid they care about will find the simplicity to be incredibly reassuring.
5. Kid Power Tactics for Dealing with Depression by N. Dubuque & Susan Dubuque. (Also includes A Parents Survival Guide to Childhood Depression.)
This unique collection of books was created by the mother of an 11-year-old boy who struggles with depression. These publications, one written for kids and the other for parents and experts, offer a wealth of material in straightforward language that can be used to understand the complicated issues surrounding juvenile depression and discover coping mechanisms.
6. Will’s Choice: A suicidal teen, a desperate mother, and a chronicle of recovery by G. Griffith.
Memoir of the author’s 17-year-old son’s shocking suicide attempt and the path to recovery. This moving book explores the events that followed a young person’s failed suicide attempt and the efforts made to heal. It can assist parents to gain a feel of what they can encounter and useful knowledge about how to get through.
7. Parenting a Teen Who Has Intense Emotions: DBT Skills to Help Your Teen Navigate Emotional and Behavioral Challenges By Pat Harvey And Britt H. Rathbone
Dialectical behavioral therapy is a style of therapy that employs mindfulness, distress tolerance, and other strategies to lessen strong emotions. This adolescent depression books for parents clarified the strategy for me. The glowing evaluations for this book highlight its usefulness and doable recommendations.
8. I Hate to Write: Tips for Helping Students with Autism Spectrum and Related Disorders Increase Achievement, Meet Academic Standards and Become Happy, Successful Writers by Cheryl Boucher and Kathy Oehler
This appropriately named book focuses on the four writing skills: language, organization, sensory, and visual-motor skills which are the most challenging for students with an autism spectrum disorder. The topics covered include getting started, knowing what to write, getting stuck, misinterpreting directions, and many others. The book’s exercises make teaching writing simple and enjoyable. Students from kindergarten through grade 12 can use the strategies.
9. Seen: Despair and Anxiety in Kids and Teenagers and the Power of Connection By Will Hutcherson, Chinwé Williams
Even though this book is written from a Christian perspective, all adults will be able to find practical advice for supporting youth in their life. This is a brief read that combines scientific facts with anecdotal information in an approachable manner. This book focuses in particular on the use of interpersonal relationships to improve mental wellness.
10. Analyzing the Black Box: Bullying & Depression amongst African American Youth By M. Harris Jr.
The symptoms of teen depression vary. In his presentation on depression caused by racial bullying in Black adolescents, Harris Jr. highlights the pervasiveness of racism as a cause of poor mental health while also providing strategies for resilience-building. There is also a physical self-defense e-course, according to Depression Open Talks.
11. The State of Black Girls: A Go-To Guide for Creating Safe Space for Black Girls Paperback BY by Marline Francois-Madden
This book, which combines nonfiction reading with supervised journaling exercises has received high marks from school counselors, social workers, and Black women and girls. Francois-Madden gives Black girls the vocabulary to comprehend the numerous particular difficulties they encounter as well as the gift of understanding that they are not alone in their struggles.
12. Raising Troubled Kids: Help for Parents of Children with Mental Illness or Emotional Disorders by Margaret Puckette
It offers strategies for dealing with a difficult child’s behavior while juggling the requirements of the rest of your family. It is a fact-filled and helpful manual on how to manage a hectic home. In addition to encouraging research results, there are expert recommendations from therapists who specialize in treating difficult kids. It emphasizes the need for carers to look after themselves and for the entire family to work together as a unit.
13. The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health: Navigate an Unequal System, Learn Tools for Emotional Wellness, and Get the Help you Deserve Paperback BY Rheeda Walker
This depression book is essential for Black people, who are frequently disregarded and unheard of by medical organizations, even though it is not specifically for teenagers. Walker, a psychologist and authority on African American mental health outline the problems before providing advice on how to identify, work within, and survive an unfair system.
14. Depression and Your Child: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers by Deborah Serani
Any parent would find it terrifying to witness their child suffering in any way. Due to the stigma attached to it and the difficulty in diagnosing children with mental illness at such a young age, dealing with this condition may be especially stressful. Parents and caregivers may learn more about pediatric depression, including its causes, symptoms, and treatments. Serani interweaves her professional experiences as a psychologist treating depressed children with her personal experiences as a depressed child.
15. The Disappearing Girl: Learning the Language of Teenage Depression By Lisa Machoian
Teenage girls’ depression can present in very distinct ways. It can be challenging to tell the difference between ordinary anxiety and a mental health condition. Inclusion can be cried out in silence. While the personal stories in this book can be challenging to read, they reveal problem-solving strategies and vocabulary that are immediately applicable in the real world.
16. Depression: A Teen’s Guide to Survive and Thrive By Jacqueline B. Toner and Claire A. B. Freeland
Although this is a book for teens, it has numerous exercises and suggestions that might aid parents and other caregivers when they are talking through a trying time. It is complimented for its understandable language and ability to relate to younger kids.
📚 Related Reading: 6 best depression poems bring you empathy
17. Peaceful Parents, Happy Kids – How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting by Dr. Laura Markham
Dr. Laura Markham’s strategy is straightforward and efficient, based on the most recent findings on brain development and significant clinical work with parents. Her message: Nurturing an emotional bond with your child leads to significant and long-lasting transformation. You don’t need to browbeat, badger, bribe, or even punish someone when you have that crucial link.
18. Coping Skills for Teens Workbook: 60 Helpful Ways to Deal with Stress, Anxiety and Anger by Janine Halloran
Extremely precise, doable stages based on coping methods! I appreciate this a lot both as a follow-up to comprehending a depression diagnosis and for the general chaos that comes with navigating the adolescent years. Everyone could benefit from learning a few reliable coping mechanisms.
19. The Depression Workbook for Teens: Tools to Improve Your Mood, Build Self-Esteem, and Stay Motivated By Katie Hurley
It supports parents and teenagers in understanding the crucial difference between feeling sad and being diagnosed with depression. Teens and others who care about them can use the tests, journaling questions, and discussion starters in this book.
20. Parent Handbook on Childhood and Teen Depression, Second Edition By Erika’s Lighthouse
A helpful book created by parents for parents who suspect their child may be depressed. The manual provides advice on how to seek assistance, information about depression in children and teens, and how to treat it, as well as suggestions for maintaining good mental health.
21. If Your Adolescent Has an Anxiety Disorder: An Essential Resource for Parents by Edna B. Foa and Linda Wasmer Andrews
For parents, teachers, or other adults working with teenagers who may be suffering from these diseases, this book is a vital resource. It gives adult readers clinical knowledge and helpful guidance to assist the teen. By combining the knowledge of mental health specialists and parents who have firsthand experience with their own adolescent’s mental condition. The narrative is heavily interspersed with advice and quotes from parents, and practical sidebars offer more details.
22. If Your Adolescent Has an Eating Disorder: An Essential Resource for Parents by B. Timothy Walsh and V. L. Cameron
This is a well-respected manual for comprehending and supporting an adolescent with anorexia nervosa. It is intended for parents of adolescents who have just received an eating disorder diagnosis, as well as for other adults who frequently interact with at-risk teenagers. The book combines the most recent scientific knowledge with the practical advice of parents who have raised teenagers with anorexia.
23. If Your Adolescent Has Depression or Bipolar Disorder: An Essential Resource for Parents by Dwight L. Evans and Linda Wasmer Andrews
For parents who interact with affected kids, this book is the go-to resource for understanding and obtaining appropriate treatment for adolescents with depression or bipolar disorder. It combines cutting-edge scientific knowledge with practical, no-nonsense guidance from parents who have dealt with these problems in their children. This knowledge includes the newest therapies, drugs, and discoveries from mood disorder research.
24. If Your Adolescent Has Schizophrenia: An Essential Resource for Parents by Raquel E. Gur and Ann Braden Johnson
It’s a helpful handbook designed especially to assist adults in recognizing the symptoms and obtaining the proper care for the children in their lives. Parents will discover a precise description of the illness, together with details on its early symptoms and instructions on how to prepare for an accurate diagnosis and course of treatment. This book also offers an insider survival guide for people now dealing with their depressed children.
References
Mental Health Books for Children and Teens and Their Parents. (2020, January 14). NAMI Main Line PA. Retrieved February 2, 2023, from https://namimainlinepa.org/mental-health-books-for-children-and-teens-and-their-parents/#Books-for-Parents-of-Children-
Swicker, A. (2022, June 9). 10 Adolescent Depression Books for Parents. Book Riot. Retrieved February 2, 2023, from https://bookriot.com/adolescent-depression-books-for-parents/
