A New NAMI Book for Parents & Caregivers
In September, NAMI released its second-ever book, "You Are Not Alone for Parents and Caregivers: The NAMI Guide to Navigating Your Child's Mental Health―With Advice from Experts and Wisdom from Real Families," written by NAMI Associate Medical Director and child psychiatrist Christine Crawford, MD, M.P.H.
"A growing number of children and teens in the U.S. are struggling with mental health conditions but parents, teachers, and other caregivers are often at a loss when concerns arise for a child they care about. The road to recovery can be difficult to navigate and it is my goal that this book will serve as an empowering and helpful resource, letting parents and caregivers know that they are not alone in this journey," said Crawford.
"You Are Not Alone for Parents and Caregivers" provides a comprehensive, compassionate, and practical resource for anyone concerned about a child or young adult's mental health. The book channels the collective wisdom of the NAMI community, sharing 80 personal stories of parents, caregivers, and the voices of young people that will help adults understand their perspectives. This follows NAMI’s first very successful book, “The NAMI Guide to Navigating Mental Health.” All royalties support NAMI's mission of education, support, and advocacy for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.
Topics included in "You Are Not Alone for Parents and Caregivers” are outlined below.
Practical Tools and Guides
“You Are Not Alone for Parents and Caregivers" offers an actionable guide to communicating with your child through various stages of development. This practical guide includes: slow down, acknowledge your own distress, notice nonverbal cues, focusing on intrinsic problems instead of “problematic” behaviors exclusively, active listening, empathy and validation, modeling behavior, and shared goals and ongoing conversations (chapter 2, pp. 28-38). These communication tactics serve as a starting point for understanding and engaging with your child’s mental health.
As an experienced child psychiatrist, Dr. Crawford details the process from evaluating if your child needs mental health intervention, to locating a trusted medical professional, to realistic expectations from the process, and more.
Dr. Crawford describes the “distress radius” as a tool for evaluating if there is cause for concern regarding your child’s mental or emotional health. According to Dr. Crawford, the distress radius is the extent of collateral damage that a child’s mood or behavior has on the world around them, including but not limited to their relationship with their peers and their ability to accomplish schoolwork (chapter 1, pp. 8).
Understanding a Diagnosis
Dr. Crawford outlines the broad scope of diagnoses, including common symptoms, causes, and possible treatments. She also addresses various special considerations, including social stigma attached to certain diagnoses and common trends.
"You Are Not Alone for Parents and Caregivers" delves into trauma, anxiety, OCD, depression, psychosis, and substance abuse.
Difficult questions are answered, such as when common anxiety becomes cause for concern, the difference between sadness and depression, and how to make space for your own mental health as a caregiver.
Each of these diagnoses is accompanied by anecdotes from parents and caregivers that have firsthand experience, as well as insightful statistics to help contextualize your child’s experience.
Navigating a Mental Health Crisis
Recognizing that your child is in crisis is one of the most difficult challenges that a parent or caregiver can face. Dr. Crawford offers practical advice on recognizing and differentiating suicidal thoughts, how to talk to your kids about suicide and self-harm, how to react if your child discusses thoughts of self-harm or suicide, and how to move forward in the aftermath of a crisis.
"You Are Not Alone for Parents and Caregivers" also offers insight on mental health challenges that may be more difficult to understand or relate to. Dr. Crawford walks the reader through the definition, root causes, common symptoms, and treatment options for various psychotic disorders, because psychotic episodes can be difficult to understand and often stigmatized.
Dr. Crawford thoroughly illustrates this process with statistics and anecdotes to affirm that you are not alone in this experience, and provides actionable tips on communication strategies, community building, and recovery.
Addressing Disruptive Behaviors and Substance Abuse
Dr. Crawford explains how to “regulate, relate, and reason” with a child experiencing emotional dysregulation (chapter 13, pp. 305).
This guide also offers insight into substance use and abuse, including possible causes of substance use, treatment for substance use disorders, and how to talk to kids about substance abuse.
Dr. Crawford’s guidance to understanding substance abuse emphasizes the importance of peer support and a sense of community, both for youth and caregivers.
Learning from Young People
"You Are Not Alone for Parents and Caregivers" includes insights from personal experiences throughout the text, and Dr. Crawford spotlights youth voices to help adults understand symptoms, treatments, mental health, and recovery from their child’s perspective.
Dr. Crawford concludes with insights on the importance of community, from the classroom to support groups to NAMI resources. Readers can also benefit from a full list of youth mental health resources in the back matter of the book.
The author, Dr. Christine Crawford, NAMI Associate Medical Director and child psychiatrist