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MENTAL HEALTH INTERVENTION: Approaching Your Child About Mental Health Treatment

Author:
Jemma Strain
Jemma Strain
B.S. Psychology
Editor:
Emma Loker
Emma Loker
B.S.
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Starting a mental health conversation with your teen can cause a whirlwind of thoughts and feelings. You may worry about them feeling ashamed or embarrassed, fear they’ll close up, or think that you don’t have enough information on the topic. 

Each of these thoughts and feelings is normal. But they shouldn’t put you off having the conversation. 

There are many conditions that can affect a teenager’s mental health. However, the World Health Organization estimates that between 4.5% and 5.5% of teenagers have an anxiety disorder, and up to 3.5% have depression. Yet, many teenagers don’t seek support for mental health issues, so these percentages could be higher. Moreover, conditions such as anxiety and depression can seriously impact a teen’s mental and physical well-being, as well as outlooks for the future. 1

If you’re concerned about your child’s mental health, it’s important to have open discussions about their emotional well-being and avenues for treatment. Talking about options for treatment can help your teen feel supported and see that the future is bright, as well as strengthen your bond with them. Professional mental health guidance and support are available, but this article can also help by covering:

  • How to talk to your child about mental health
  • Tips for talking to kids about mental health treatment
  • Discussing therapy options with your child
  • When to talk to your child about mental health care 
Approaching Your Child About Mental Health Treatment

How to Talk to Your Child About Mental Health

Seeing your child go through a tough time with their mental health can be tough – you might not be able to “fix” their problems straight away. Yet, even a small action like talking to them about their mental health can make a huge difference to the burden they’re carrying. 

Nobody knows a teenager like their parents. So, you may have a good sense of how best to approach a conversation about mental health. However, many parents may worry that they’ll say the wrong thing, that their teen won’t want to share their experiences, or that they might make the situation worse. For this reason, we provide six tips for talking to kids about mental health treatment. 

6 Tips for Talking to Kids About Mental Health Treatment

Often, the go-to answer for teens when asked how they’re doing is “I’m fine.” However, if you’re concerned about your child’s mental health, it’s important that they know that they can talk to you and that treatment options are available. 

The following tips can help you when discussing therapy options with your child.2-4

1. Pick the Right Moment

Choosing the right moment to have the conversation about mental health treatment can be just as important as what you say. It’s important that they feel relaxed enough to speak about what they’re going through without feeling like their emotions are overriding their views. 

For this reason, choose a time of day when they’re less likely to be stressed or distracted. For instance, straight before or after school might cloud their judgment and cause them to shut down if they’ve been finding school stressful lately. Instead, perhaps decide to talk to them after dinner, or when you’re both doing an activity together, such as a walk. 

2. Share Your Observations

You don’t have to jump into the conversation with accusations about how you think they’ve been coping recently. Instead, you can gently share observations you’ve made about their demeanor and actions. For example, you could say “I’ve noticed you’ve not been doing this activity recently. I was wondering if this has something to do with how you’ve been feeling?” 

Sharing observations in this way demonstrates that you’re paying attention and are there to support them, which can be highly comforting to a teen. 

3. Ask Open Ended Questions

Closed questions aren’t the best approach to take with teenagers; they may fall back on one-word answers which won’t give you much information on their well-being. Instead, try open-ended questions which give them the opportunity to think about and expand on their answers. For example, asking “How have you been coping recently?” can give you more insight than “Are you OK?”

4. Give Them the Space to Share

It can be distressing to hear about how your child has been struggling, but it’s important not to jump in with too many questions. Silences can actually reveal more than words. 

What’s more, silences also allow a teen to think about and reflect on how they’ve been feeling – potentially opening routes to discuss treatment options. However, if you feel a silence isn’t going to be eventually filled with discussion, you can gently prompt them by saying “I know it’s difficult to talk about your emotions, but the more you share, the easier it will get. I’m here to listen.”

5. Empathize With Them

Sometimes, the fear of being judged or not believed can prevent a teen from opening up about their feelings. If they start to share with you, it’s important to validate what they’re saying. While it might be tempting to do so, saying things like “Feeling like this is a normal part of being a teenager,” can minimize what they’re going through and cause them to close up.

Instead, even if you can’t relate to how they’re feeling, it’s good to let them know that you hear them and understand how difficult it must be for them. Praise them for having the courage to open up and reassure them that you’re there for them.

6. Discuss Options for Treatment

Mental health conditions are complex issues which involve an interplay between genetics, biology, psychology, and environment. For this reason, treatment for mental health conditions often involves lifestyle changes, practical support, and mental health treatment. 

You can help your child look after their self-care, such as assisting them with creating a sleep schedule, making healthy eating plans, and setting time aside for exercise. However, if your teen’s mental health is affecting their ability to function in daily life, they may need professional mental health support. Discussing treatment options with them can help them see that they can understand and move past the issues that are affecting them. What’s more, they’ll recognize that they have your support in the process.

It’s important to allow your teen a voice in their treatment, so educating them on the options means that they can make a knowledgeable choice. We discuss treatment options for teen mental health conditions next. 

However, before we move forward, it’s good to remember to look after your own self-care after a conversation about your teen’s mental health. It can be hard to hear about your child’s difficulties, but these issues aren’t your fault. Remember to eat well, get enough sleep, and exercise – you will be better able to support your child when you’re also taking care of your own needs and well-being.

Discussing Therapy Options With Your Child

If you’re thinking about therapy options for your child, chances are you’re both experiencing a lot of stress and overwhelm. Mental health issues can affect mental and physical well-being, concentration, relationships, and academic success – so it can be a lot to deal with all at once. 

Mental health professionals can conduct an initial assessment with your child to learn more about their symptoms, experiences, and how they’re coping. Based on what they learn in this assessment, they can talk to you both about the most appropriate treatment options for your child’s needs. There is a wide selection of treatment options for teen mental health conditions, but a professional will likely talk you through the following options.

Therapy Options for Teen Mental Health:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

Discussing therapy options with your child will inevitably mean talking about CBT, as it is proven to be effective in treating many teen mental health conditions. It works by targeting teens’ thoughts and actions, identifying negative patterns, and helping them build healthy ways of coping. A school counselor may also use CBT techniques.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

As a parent, you will likely be best placed to understand your child’s previous experiences, such as trauma, and how they may affect their mental health. EMDR is an effective way of treating trauma as it changes how these memories are stored in the brain, helping a teen move past trauma and form more positive beliefs.

Interpersonal Therapy

A teen’s relationships with family members or friends can contribute to mental health difficulties. Interpersonal therapy can help them work through these issues and figure out better ways of coping to improve their mental health.

Mindfulness-Based Therapy (MBT)

MBT combines elements of CBT with non-judgmental mindfulness techniques to help teens combat negative emotions and moods. Through MBT, your child can learn how to not fall into a negativity cycle and build more positive self-beliefs.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

TMS is a non-invasive therapy that uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in specific brain areas, helping improve mood and treatment mental health conditions that haven’t responded to other treatments, such as treatment-resistant depression.

Based on your teen’s symptoms, a mental health professional may also discuss the option of residential mental health programs. Each of the treatments covered can be delivered in these programs. 

Discussing Residential Treatment With Your Child

If you’ve taken all the steps on talking to your child about mental health treatment, you both may be mulling over the options for treatment. If your teen has moderate to severe symptoms, is engaging in behaviors such as self-harm, or may be posing a risk to their own safety, residential treatment may be the best option. 

The thought of residential treatment might seem scary or overly clinical to your child, but you can reassure them by explaining that residential treatment can…5-7

  • Be a nurturing, supportive environment in which they can feel free from the challenges of daily life
  • Help them understand where their feelings are coming from and how to cope with them
  • Significantly reduce their symptoms and improve their optimism for the future
  • Include family involvement, allowing you to be a part of their care and treatment
  • Provide peer support, helping a teen recognize that they’re not alone, as well as feel understood and accepted 
  • Help them transition back to the community after treatment
 

Residential treatment isn’t about isolation – it’s the opposite. It’s about creating a network of support in which your teen will feel connected, reinforced, and empowered. Deciding that residential treatment is the best choice for your teen’s needs can be a relief for you both, allowing you to feel secure in the knowledge that they’re safe and healing.
Teen after mental health intervention

When to Talk to Your Child About Mental Health Care

Having open, honest conversations about mental health – at any point – means that a teenager will know they can trust you and turn to you when needed. However, if you’re concerned about your teenager’s mental health, it’s more important than ever to speak to them about their well-being. The information in this article can work as a useful guide, but it doesn’t replace professional support. 

Mission Prep can help. We understand that the relationship between a therapist, teen, and their families can sometimes be even more important than the form of therapy itself. For this reason, we approach the dynamic with every teen in empathetic, caring ways. 

Mission Prep offers outpatient and residential treatment options for a variety of teen mental health conditions in various locations, tailoring each program to each teen’s unique needs. Whether you have questions about how to start the conversation about mental health treatment or what treatment options are suitable, our team is available 24/7 to answer any concerns. Contact us to learn more. 

References

  1. World Health Organization. (2024, October 10). Mental health of adolescents. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health
  2. National Alliance on Mental Illness. (n.d.). How to talk to your child about their mental health. NAMI. https://www.nami.org/your-journey/kids-teens-and-young-adults/kids/how-to-talk-to-your-child-about-their-mental-health/
  3. Hurley, K. (n.d.). 10 tips for talking to your teen about their mental health. The Jed Foundation. https://jedfoundation.org/resource/tips-for-talking-to-your-teen-about-their-mental-health
  4. American Academy of Pediatrics. (2024, February 7). Teen mental health: How to know when your child needs help. HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/teen/Pages/Mental-Health-and-Teens-Watch-for-Danger-Signs.aspx
  5. Anxiety and Depression Association of America. (n.d.). Youth residential treatment – What to know and what to ask. Anxiety and Depression Association of America. https://adaa.org/learn-from-us/from-the-experts/blog-posts/consumer/youth-residential-treatment-what-know-and-what
  6. Hart, L. M., Cropper, P., Morgan, A. J., Kelly, C. M., & Jorm, A. F. (2019). Teen Mental Health First Aid as a school-based intervention for improving peer support of adolescents at risk of suicide: Outcomes from a cluster randomised crossover trial. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1177/0004867419885450
  7. Zambrowicz, R., Stewart, J. G., Cosby, E., Esposito, E. C., Pridgen, B., & Auerbach, R. P. (2019). Inpatient Psychiatric Care Outcomes for Adolescents: A Test of Clinical and Psychosocial Moderators. Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 4(4), 357. https://doi.org/10.1080/23794925.2019.1685419

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