This encyclopedia provides a concise introduction to the mental health topics of greatest concern to adolescents. It offers young readers the information they need to better understand mental disorders and the importance of psychological well-being. Addressing mental illness and prioritizing psychological well-being are important at any age, but the teen years present unique challenges. Hormonal changes, peer pressure, and the demands of school and a busy social life combined with many other factors put adolescents at high risk for mental health problems. Certain disorders, such as depression and anxiety, are particularly prevalent in this age group, as are risky behaviors like substance abuse, self-harm, and distracted driving. Today's teens also face uniquely modern threats to their psychological well-being, such as Internet addiction and social media–induced fear of missing out (FOMO). Yet there are also ample opportunities for adolescents to strengthen their mental health and resiliency through such practices as meditation, activism, and youth leadership. Teen Mental Health: An Encyclopedia of Issues and Solutions is a ready-reference guide to the mental health topics that most affect the lives of American teens in the 21st century. Entries are accessibly written and feature extensive cross-referencing and helpful further reading lists. This volume also offers a collection of recommended resources, including a number of hotlines for teens in crisis.

This essential book shows practitioners how they can engage with teens' online lives to support their mental health. Drawing on interviews with young people it discusses how adults can have open and inquiring conversations with teens about both the positive and negative aspects of their use of online spaces. For most young people there is no longer a barrier between their 'real' and 'online' lives. This book reviews the latest research around this topic to investigate how those working with teenagers can use their insights into digital technologies to promote wellbeing in young people. It draws extensively on interviews with young people aged 12-16 throughout, who share their views about social media and reveal their online habits. Chapters delve into how teens harness online spaces such as YouTube, Instagram and gaming platforms for creative expression and participation in public life to improve their mental health and wellbeing. It also provides a framework for practitioners to start conversations with teens to help them develop resilience in respect of their internet use. The book also explores key risks such as bullying and online hate, social currency and the quest for 'likes', sexting, and online addiction. This is essential reading for teachers, school counsellors, social workers, and CAMHS professionals (from psychiatrists to mental health nurses) - in short, any practitioner working with teenagers around mental health.

Life can be stressful, especially for teens, and this stress can have negative impacts on both physical and psychological health. This book answers readers' questions about the causes and consequences of stress and how it can be prevented and managed. Overscheduling, the pressure to get into a good college, bullying, body image, conflicts with friends, and social media are just a few of the many sources of stress for today's teens. And, while teens may face just as many, if not more, stressors than adults, they are less likely to have the coping mechanisms and stress management tools needed to effectively combat the stress they feel. Part of Greenwood's Q&A Health Guides series, Teen Stress: Your Questions Answered follows a reader-friendly question-and-answer format that anticipates readers' needs and concerns. Prevalent myths and misconceptions are identified and dispelled, and a collection of case studies illustrates key concepts and issues through relatable stories and insightful recommendations. Each book in the series also includes a section on health literacy, equipping teens and young adults with practical tools and strategies for finding, evaluating, and using credible sources of health information both on and off the internet-important skills that contribute to a lifetime of healthy decision-making.

Teen-A-Pause. Consciously coaching you and your kids through their teenage years and learning more about you & life as you do. Actively engaging in the process of change; changing all that no longer serves you as you support your teen in ‘becoming’ all that allows them to create resilience and wellbeing. Intention of this book; • To integrate THE PAUSE into daily life • To support and educate parents as to their teens’ needs. • To support & educate parents to understand mental / emotional health. • To understand the teenage years as the powerful and formative transition from child to young adult, from dependent to interdependent. • To allow you to make time to reflect on where you and your teen are at this present time. • Creating healthier relationships both with yourself and your teen. • To take the time to ‘unlearn’ all that prevents you from being the most authentic, happy and calm you, so ‘un-becoming’ everything that no longer serves you, whilst supporting your teen on their journey to ‘becoming!” • Life is a journey and we can allow each step, no matter how challenging, to support our growth in all areas, so there are numerous gifts to be found within this developmental time.

Author Peggy J. Parks tackles a crucial reality of being a teenager, depression. She offers young readers and researchers a means of understanding depression and its ramifications. Readers will be given essential insight into what causes depression, how people live with it, and the latest information about diagnosis, treatment, and prevention.

If your teen has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder--or your child’s moods seem out of control--Dr. David Miklowitz can help. The bestselling author of The Bipolar Disorder Survival Guide has tailored his proven treatment approach to meet the specific needs of teens and their families. The Bipolar Teen provides practical tools you can use to make home life manageable again. You’ll learn to spot the differences between normal teenage behavior and the telltale symptoms of mania and depression. Together with your child’s doctors, you’ll be able to strike a healthy balance between medication and psychotherapy, recognize and respond to the early warning signs of an oncoming episode, and collaborate effectively with school personnel. Like no other resource available, this powerful book delivers ways to manage chaos and relieve stress so everyone in your family--including siblings--can find stability, support, and peace of mind.

Young adults face health challenges that are vastly different from those of previous generations. While their parents benefited from new vaccines, antibiotics, and other medications, today's teens are learning that lifestyle choices also play a central role in health maintenance. The decisions they make and the habits they adopt form the foundation for lifelong wellness. Omnigraphics' Teen Health Series is a specially focused set of volumes within the highly acclaimed Health Reference Series. Each volume deals comprehensively with a topic selected according to the needs and interests of people in middle school and high school. While many young people recognize that physical fitness is important for maintaining a healthy body, the importance of mental fitness for maintaining a healthy mind and emotions is sometimes overlooked. Statistics suggest that nearly one out of every five teens struggles with a mental health concern, and one in ten suffers from a mental disorder severe enough to cause some level of impairment, including poor academic performance, loss of friends, family conflict, faulty body image, and difficulty making decisions. Compounding the problem is that fact that many young people experience a long delay-sometimes decades-between the onset of their symptoms and when they eventually seek treatment. Mental Health Information for Teens, Third Edition offers updated information about maintaining mental wellness and coping with a host of problems that commonly occur during the adolescent years, including self-esteem issues, stress overload, family problems, heartbreak, and grief. It describes the warning signs that may accompany mental health disorders such as depresion, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, phobias, behavioral disorders, personality disorders, psychoses, and schizophrenia. It also discusses the types of treatment most commonly used by mental health professionals. Facts about alternative approaches to mental health care are included, and the book concludes with directories of resources for help and support and suggestions for additional reading. Book jacket.

In this unique and compassionate guide, renowned grief counselor Helen Fitzgerald turns her attention to the special needs of adolescents struggling with loss and gives teens the tools they need to work through their pain and grief. Although the circumstances surrounding a death are difficult to handle at any age, adolescence brings with it challenges and struggles that until now have been largely overlooked. Writing not only about but also for teenagers, Fitzgerald adeptly covers the entire range of situations in which teens may find themselves grieving a death, whether the cause was old age, terminal illness, school violence, or suicide. She helps teens address the gamut of strong and difficult emotions they will experience and the new situations they will face, including family changes, issues with friends, problems at school, and the courage needed to move forward with one's own life. Using the clear and accessible format that has made The Mourning Handbook and The Grieving Child enduring and helpful classics, Fitzgerald guides teens through everything from the sickbed to the funeral, from the first day back at school to the first anniversary of the death. Above all, she lets teens know that even in their darkest hour, they are not alone.

In recent years a dizzying array of programs has emerged to meet the needs of struggling teens and their families-wilderness therapy programs, therapeutic boarding schools, alternative schools, mentoring and court diversion programs, independent living programs, and myriad day treatment and partial hospitalization services. Yet not all of these offerings employ mental health professionals or follow evidence-based treatment protocols. Some programs are licensed and accredited, but many are not, and some use techniques that are highly controversial, even abusive, resulting in injury and accidental death. Frederic G. Reamer and Deborah H. Siegel have written the first scholarly book on this influential and controversial industry. They begin with a time line of Americans' changing attitudes toward challenging teens and the programs and schools established to handle this population. Then they summarize reputable organizations, including a selection of community-based and residential programs and schools, and provide brief descriptions of typical services. The authors candidly discuss a number of troubling scandals and tragedies, exposing the tragic consequences of emotionally and physically abusive practices, and recommend a range of empirically sound interventions for the clinical challenges of adolescent depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, oppositional behavior, eating disorders, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. The authors conclude with a blueprint for reform and twenty "best practice" principles relating to harm prevention, program-based discipline, industry regulation, quality assurance, parental involvement, staff education, and after-care services.

Whether glamorised or stigmatised, teenage parenthood is all too often used to stand for a host of social problems, and empirical research results ignored. Identifying core controversies surrounding teen pregnancy and parenting, this book resolves misperceptions using findings from large-scale, longitudinal, and qualitative research studies from the US and other Western countries. Summarising the evidence and integrating it with a systems perspective, the authors explore ten prevalent myths about teenage parents, including: Teen pregnancy is associated with other behavior problems. Children of teen parents will experience cognitive delay, adjustment problems, and will themselves become teen parents. Better outcomes are achieved when teen mothers live with their own mothers. Teen pregnancy costs tax payers lots of money. Abstinence education is the best way to prevent teen pregnancy. Teen Pregnancy and Parenting ends by highlighting the prevention and intervention implications for families, practitioners, and policymakers. It will be of interest to academics and advanced students from a range of disciplines and professions including psychology, public policy, nursing, social work and sociology.