Troubled Teens Resources

• Life isn’t worth living.
• My family would be better off without me.
• Next time I’ll take enough pills to do the job right.
• Take my (prized collection, valuables) I don’t need this stuff anymore.
• I won’t be around to deal with that.
• You’ll be sorry when I’m gone.
• I won’t be around much longer.
• I just can’t deal with everything; life’s too hard.
• Nobody understands me nobody feels the way I do.
• There’s nothing I can do to make it better.
• I’d be better off dead.
• I feel like there is no way out.

(Source)

Drama queens come in all sizes and teenagers seem to especially excel in the role. However, statements such as those listed above, in conjunction with other signs of depression or disorder in your teenager’s life, are far from the rantings of a drama queen. They can be quite clear indicators that your troubled teen is approaching or is in a psychological crisis sufficiently severe enough to consider intervention.

InCrisis provides an online clinical screening report that can help a parent determine if their depressed teenager is approaching a critical stage.

“The Clinical Screening Report is a tool for parents, appropriate family members and caregivers who want to screen a child’s behavior and compare the screening results to other children. The Clinical Screening Report is designed to identify problems and help guide you in your next steps.”

The report takes about 45 minutes to complete and is to serve only as a guide to assist the parent in determining if crisis intervention is the necessary next step.

Merriam-Webster’s Medical Dictionary Defines intervention as “the act or fact of interfering with a condition to modify it or with a process to change its course”.

American Heritage Dictionary defines intervene as “To come, appear, or lie between two things.”

Most parents would not hesitate to throw themselves between their child and an oncoming car if they thought they could throw the child to safety. The combination of peer pressure, anger and emotional pain can set your child on a collision course every bit as fatal and a parent will have no choice but “to lie between two things.” To “interfere with a condition” of the heart and mind that is propelling their at-risk child far from life and safety, and to “change the course” of a self-destructive teen towards a new course of healing and productivity.

Because of popular media, for some parents, the term intervention itself suggests an ordeal involving coercion and trauma. A little investigation can assure the parent that interrupting the processes at work in your teen’s crisis can be an effective course to stop the momentum of a life out of control.

When is it time to make that choice? Crisis Counseling.com provides some valuable resources that the distressed parent can use to begin evaluating what is best for their teen.

“The choice of intervention, the duration and the competence of those involved are critical factors to insure success. More than anything, the intervention must be appropriate to the level of risk and responsive to the underlying problem or potential cause. The key is to determine the level of risk and likelihood that problems will continue or escalate.

The most reliable and systematic methods are the first and best approach in assessing risk. The “Adolescent Clinical Screening Questionaire” is am excellent tool.”