Tips For Parents Helping A Teenager Who Has Been Suicidal Thrive Again
Topic: Teen Therapy in East Lyme
Written by Katie Ziskind, Holistic Teen Specialist, Marriage and Family Therapist in East Lyme at Wisdom Within Counseling. Read more about Katie, here.
Ask Directly About Self-Harm:
Ask your teen, “Are you thinking of suicide? Have you been self-harming?” Remember, talking directly and openly about suicide does not increase suicide risk. Moreover, depressed teen help for LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults is holistic and non-judgmental. Katie Ziskind, LMFT, RYT500, loves helping depressed teens.
Even if they say, “I’m good.” Teen therapy in East Lyme helps your teen move from frustration and fighting to healthy expression of feelings. First, provide constant supervision (even if your teen isn’t currently self-harming). And, do not leave your teen alone or drive a car alone. Continue to take threats/thoughts seriously. If your teen has told you they feel like self-harming, but haven’t yet, you need to seek depressed teen help. Follow through is important even after your angry teen calms down and says, “I didn’t mean it.” You may ask yourself, “How do I help self a harming teen?” As a parent/guardian, you may feel scared, helpless, and like you want to help, but you don’t know how.
Call/Text (860)-451-9364 to help your self harming teen.
A threat is a cry for help: “I am not coping and I need your help.” Get your depressed teen help today call/text (860)-451-9364.
Read Nonverbal Cues:
Body language can “talk” much louder than words. By cutting, your teen is really saying, “I need your love and attention because I’m in tremendous pain emotionally, and I can’t seem to stop it on my own. I need you to take care of me again.”
When you are worried and overwhelmed looking for depressed teen help, you can call or text right now (860)-451-9364. Teen therapy at Wisdom Within Counseling in East Lyme is all about building positive communication. Your self-harming teen will learn essential positive coping skills to handle all of their feelings in a healthy way. Just because your teen may be distant/angry, they may also be feeling worried, grieving loss, shame, have experienced trauma, or another significant event they have been holding inside.
Create Rituals:
Before school or in the morning, make a nutritious breakfast for you both. Sit together for 30 minutes. Even if they don’t want to talk, holding the space as you eat together is a form of support and bonding. In time, this may be when your teen will look forward to talking with you. When you think about how to help self harming teen, building meaningful connection and being supportive is a good start. Lastly, a positive relationship will open up communication between you and your distant teen. Likewise, create a routine for exercise, meals, and bedtimes.
Be Empathetic:
A great way to approach a frustrated, angry teenager is to let them know you also share many of their feelings. When appropriate, to build trust, empathy, and authority in a fun way, share a short story from your life when you were their age. Avoid “fixing.” Being a teen can be tough. Teen therapy in East Lyme with teen psychologist, Katie Ziskind, is holistic, strength-based and helps your teen build self-confidence. Lastly, reassure your self-harming teen that there is help through therapy, yoga, and family, and they will not feel like this forever. Further, this shows your depressed young adult that you believe in them and were once a teenager too.
Stay Positive and Healthy as a Parent:
As a parent, it is important to schedule non-negotiable self-care such as a yoga class, morning run, a workout, book club, seeing your own therapist, or even a relaxing bath. Look at your week or your day and plan, so you don’t become exhausted and burnt out. Communicate with your partner or a friend to coordinate care for your other children, so you can can dedicate self-care time and return refreshed to parenting your teen. When looking for depressed teen help, parents/guardians often mistake depression for teen anger and angst. Katie Ziskind, LMFT, RYT500 is an expert in depressed teen help and offers various holistic therapies including art, yoga, music, and outdoor walks. Katie Ziskind, LMFT, RYT500 brings out the best in your cutting, depressed teen and help them love themselves again.
Give Handwritten Notes:
Write your young adult a note of compliments. At times, in teen therapy in East Lyme, positive notes will be used to boost self-esteem, uplift and help teen depression, and provide a foundation for positive self-talk. Further, words of affirmations can be powerful. Taking your depressed teen to their favorite restaurant can be a great distraction from the sadness and hopelessness they feel. When you feel distant and don’t know how to help your self harming teen, there are many ways you can help. Getting your teen in therapy and giving them a safe place is huge. Katie Ziskind, owner of Wisdom Within Counseling in East Lyme, knows exactly how to help self harming teen. Call/Text to get your teen started (860)-451-9364.
When you give your teen your note, go over all the things that are positive, valuable, and unique about your teen with him or her.
Nurturing Notes: How To Help Self-Harming Teens:
Make it a habit to put a positive, handwritten note in their lunch or gym bag. And, when you think about how to help a self harming teen, think love, kindness, and hugs. Even if you think they might be, “too old,” for a note, remember that they need your extra support, positive compliments, and encouragement during this distant time. And, on the note of how to help self harming teens, don’t joke about self-harm, cutting, or suicide.
About Teen Counseling Expert, Katie Ziskind in Niantic
Wisdom Within Counseling is a holistic practice for marriage and family therapy in East Lyme. And, teen specialist and teen counselor, Katie Ziskind, LMFT, RYT500 helps teens stop self-harming and finally feel understood. Furthermore, depressed teen help in Niantic is holistic, art-focused, and creative. Lastly, Katie loves helping self-harming, angry teens create and live a life they love! Read more about what moving to a new town does to teens, here. Call/text (860)-451-9364 to get started.
Safety Checks:
Even if it seems intrusive, daily bedroom and full house safety checks are a must. Immediately and entirely remove the following dangerous items from your whole house: Razor blades, extra light bulbs, lighters, sharp objects, belts, extra shoelaces, medicine bottles, other family member’s medication, extra pills of any kind, even over-the-counter medicine, alcohol bottles (in the fridge and storage), household cleaners and chemicals, locking kitchen knives (checking for any missing knives daily).
Medication Management:
As your cell phone company for a copy of text messages your teen has sent and received. If your teen is on medication, provide them with the pill, and do a mouth check to make sure they have swallowed it. Use a lock box to hold the rest of the bottle until the next dose. Even though these may seem extreme, they are necessary. Parent sessions (parents only) are a big part of teen therapy East Lyme at Wisdom Within Counseling.
Provide Regular Therapy in East Lyme:
Intensive, regular therapy sessions are very important to teach new coping skills and provide a safe place when your teen belongs, via providing outside, professional support. Teach your teen that therapy is not a punishment or something to be ashamed of, and discourage others from teasing your teen about going to therapy. Remind your teen, celebrities and movie stars have therapists too, so they can be the best they can be. In addition to regular mental health counseling, help your teen gain support from other professionals via weekly appointments: massage therapy, acupuncture, nutritionist, naturopath, art therapy, animal therapy, teen groups, personal fitness trainer, book clubs, ect.
Create a Plan:
Together with your angry, distant teen, make a list of trusted family members or friends with phone numbers to call in a crisis. Additionally, connect these family members to let them know they are on this list and may receive a call. Encourage your teen to save the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) in their cell phone and call anytime.
Text/Call for your consultation with Katie Ziskind, depressed teen expert. (860)-451-9364.
Compiled by Katie Ziskind, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, and Teen Specialist. She incorporates holistic, creative art therapy, yoga therapy, and music therapy in the Southeastern Connecticut area. At her therapy office in Niantic, she loves supporting LGBTQIA+ teens, young adults, and families. And, depressed teen help is one call away. She helps angry teens finally feel understood and accepted in order to create a life they love. RTY500. Call: (860) 451-9364 or email KatieZiskindMft@gmail.com. Tons of free info and resources online at WisdomWithinCt.com
