Help for depressed daughter

[donahue493]

I have an 18 year old daughter who i believe is depressed.  She was seen by an excellent psychiatrist.  She stopped going to the dr. b/c she felt it was a waste of time.  She said the medicine she was on wasn't working.  She was taking drugs while seeing the dr. so that is why the meds didn't work. It was hard to get a correct diagnosis.  She is 5'3.5" tall and only weighs 96 lbs.

I am afraid for both her mental and physical health.  any suggestions on how to get her to both a psychiatrist and a general practitioner.

thank you

[chickamin]

Its a tough one esp.for being a teenager and how many teenagers think their mom knows best?. I would look for some sort of group help where your daughter can see others her age with similar problems and get into group talks. Also mental health dept. often have what is known as behavioral health, This is where a patient can work one on one with some one who best deals with this sort of thing. First I think she needs to be able to feel a trust with that person, one she feels at ease with,then from there it can be a long drawn out deal,but time and understanding is what is needed here. Check your local medical directory for mental health or behavioral health. Good luck. If only more moms and dads cared like you what a beauiful world it could be as every child needs to grow up knowing everyone cares. God bless you.

[ILADVOCATE]

Well she has two forms of recovery to do and she really can't get a good response from medication until she is free of any issues as regarding substance abuse so the first step if for her to attend a dual recovery group for a person with a psychiatric disability and substance abuse issue. Then as she adjusts to that she can approach seeing a psychiatrist and be encouraged by the people in the group as well in a supportive manner.