Depressed Child: A Parent's Guide for Rescusing Kids

by Douglas A. Riley

Book Overview

By emphasizing how parents can talk to their children about thoughts and feelings, exploring how children develop negative beliefs about themselves, and teaching parents how to help their children change those hopeless self-perceptions, this book outlines practical methods that parents and children together can use to find solutions to the dark thoughts that plague so many young people today.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0878331875
• ISBN13: 9780878331871
• Release Date: February 2001
• Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

necessary read

i consider this and When Nothing Matter's Anymore by Cobain to be very strong books on the discourse of childhood depression. It is a must if you are raising a depressed child, are a sibling of one or having been one yourself. I respect this sensitive topic being discussed because very rarely is childhood depression taken seriously or discussed in our society where everyone is supposed to be upbeat and smiling 24/7 such as ours. Fabulous book, it will be a mistake if you do not read it and apply it.

A Must Read For Struggling Parents of Depressed Children

This is a wonderful insightful book that is well written, concise and easy to understand for the average parent. It has not only been extremely important to me in identifying the negative thought patterns that I see in my children who are depressed, it was illuminating to read about "miniature marriages", something I had never heard termed in quite that way and I realized that my 16-year-old was in and, accidentally, with my blessing! I have already made drastic changes based on what I have read in this book and already, in a span of about 10 days, see positive results. One of the most helpful things about this book are the samples of conversations with children who have faulty thinking. It is important to listen to the negative self-defeating statements depressed children might make, and challenge those beliefs in a gently questioning manner, so they can come to understand how distorted their own thinking is. The examples given have proven very useful to me. Depression runs in my family, and there might be some bio-chemical foundation for that, and this book deals with thought-based or cognitive depression but it is extremely helpful anyway. I am starting family therapy with my children, but this book will be something I will keep at my side to help me as I work through these issues. I recommend it to anyone struggling with children who seem down in the dumps or discouraged, or seriously depressed.

A must read for parents and teachers.

This book not only describes the symptoms of depression, but also gives parents a plan to "rescue" their children. I cannot recommend it highly enough. It is highly readable and understandable.

Sobering, powerful, and essential

The Depressed Child: A Parent's Guide To Rescuing Kids is a book written to empower parents who feel helpless in understanding the negative self-images and unhappy emotions that affect their children. Author Dr. Douglas Riley is a clinical psychologist who specializes in child and adolescent psychology, who has operated a private outpatient clinic since 1994; here, he presents parents with clear, detailed, easy-to-understand information about adolescent depression and what to do about it. Topics include how to overcome the "I'm inferior" myth; how to handle the "miniature marriage" phenomenon in teen dating relationships and providing consolation when these "marriages" fail; and how to evaluate and select from the methods to manage a child's depression. Sobering, powerful, and essential to understanding the mind of a depressed adolescent, The Depressed Child is highly recommended.

Finally, there is help!

As someone who has experience child and adolescent depression from both directions-having been a depressed child and the mother of a depressed adolescent-I couldn't stop my head from nodding in agreement with each "hopeless belief" Dr. Riley uncovered and addressed in his most recent book, The Depressed Child: A Parent's Guide for Rescuing Kids. I quietly folded the book back together after reading the last chapter, filled with a sense of relief. Finally, there is help out there!With this book, Dr. Riley confirms the seriousness of a childhood problem often ignored and rarely understood by parents (and other adults responsible for the well-being of children). But, unlike other books written on this subject, he is not satisfied with simply bringing child and adolescent depression to a level of awareness. Instead, in a very calm yet firm, non-confrontational yet assertive tone, Dr. Riley insists that parents accept responsibility and take an active role in rescuing their children from depression. And just as clearly he provides them, in the form of "replacement beliefs," with the lifelines they need to do so.While he acknowledges that chemical imbalances can cause depression, Dr. Riley's focus is on cognitive, or thought-based, depression. The book is organized around ten hopeless beliefs depressed children and adolescents often adopt about their selves and their lives. By using real-life examples from his years as a practicing child and adolescent psychologist, Dr. Riley is able to let the reader see not only the child's negative thought process in action but also how to challenge and restructure it.Readers will not be turned off by any psycho-babble or professional jargon. Instead, this book is written clearly with the intended audience, concerned parents, in mind. References and examples are tangible, realistic and current. In fact, Dr. Riley has worked hard to relate to the current trends of the day by making numerous references and connections between good old-fashioned humanness and the age of technology, for example when he insists that "Fortunately, the brain can be reprogrammed." It is with one of his references to technology, however, that I have my one complaint about this book. In mentioning sources available for readers who want information beyond the focus of his book, Dr. Riley suggests that any information acquired via any web site "should be read with a grain of salt." Certainly there are many, many web sites that should be discounted in terms of accuracy and believability; there are, however, effective ways to establish the credibility of the architect and information posted. The blessing of the Internet is that it has flung wide open doors that previously blocked information, knowledge and support from a huge segment of society and has piqued the curiosity and satisfied the needs of millions. As a matter a fact, I never would have known about Dr. Riley's book, if it wasn't for being "wired" - and for that matter,