TPP 416: Dr. Christine Crawford on Parenting Through Mental Health Challenges

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Full-Tilt Parenting: Strategies, Insights, and Connection for Parents Raising Neurodivergent Children 44 min 1 speaker 3 chapters transcribed 15 hours ago

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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?

Unknown 0:00

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Dr. Christine Crawford 0:24

Maybe it's Maybelline. When it comes to mental health concerns in kids, these are concerns that are fairly consistent across multiple domains in a kid's life. And if you start to notice that it's expanding beyond the confines of the home and it's having an impact on their academic performance, it's having an impact on their interests to engage in extracurricular activities, you're noticing that there's actually a change in. Their interactions with their friends, with their coaches, with their faith-based leaders. You're noticing that it's starting to expand and radiate out into other aspects. So that is a concept that I talk about in the book so that parents and caregivers can have this visual in their mind to be like, okay, is this a problem just here or is this a much larger problem?

Debbie Reber 1:16

I'm Debbie Rieber and welcome to Tilt Parenting, a podcast featuring interviews and conversations aimed at inspiring, informing, and supporting parents raising differently wired kids. I know that parenting kids who are struggling with mental health challenges can sometimes feel overwhelming, as though we're not equipped to handle what's happening. When our kids are going through tough mental health moments, it can be isolating, scary, and exhausting. And that's why I'm so grateful for the work of my guest today, Dr. Christine Crawford, the associate medical director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the largest grassroots mental health organization in the U.S. Dr. Crawford is the author of the new book You Are Not Alone for Parents and Caregivers, the NAMI Guide to Navigating.

Debbie Reber 1:59

Navigating your child's mental health with advice from experts and wisdom from real families. It's an incredibly helpful handbook for any parent navigating this challenging path. The book covers everything from how to talk to our kids about their mental health to what to do if a long-awaited therapist doesn't turn out to be the right fit. It also delves into practical and emotional concerns such as recognizing signs of depression, understanding. Our critical role as parents in the mental health team and learning about concepts like the distress radius to better gauge the impact of mental health issues on our kids. Before we dive into our conversation, here is more about Dr. Crawford. In addition to her role at NAMI, she is an assistant professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine.

Debbie Reber 2:47

She provides outpatient psychiatric care to To children and adolescents at Boston Medical Center and serves as medical director for the Boston Public Health's Commission School-based clinician program, supporting the socio-emotional well-being of Boston public school students. A trusted expert in child mental health, Dr. Crawford frequently engages with both the public and with professionals, with their insights featured in outlets like the New York Times, the Washington Post. NPR and NBC. She's also appeared on the Today Show and the BBC. Finally, a quick content warning. This episode includes discussions of suicidal ideation and other sensitive mental health topics. So if these are difficult subjects for you, please prioritize your well-being while listening.

Debbie Reber 3:34

And now here is my conversation with Dr. Christine Crawford on parenting through mental health challenges. Hey Dr. Crawford, welcome to the podcast.

Dr. Christine Crawford 3:49

Thanks so much for having me.

Debbie Reber 3:51

Yeah, I'm really looking forward to getting into your work and this book. When I found out about this book we're gonna be discussing today, which listeners, it's called You Are Not Alone for Parents and Caregivers, The Nami Guide to Navigating Your Child's Mental Health. I was like, Okay, I need to bring that to my families.

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Chapters

3 chapters

1 What is the main topic discussed in this episode? 0:00–8:34 2 Why is it important to talk openly with children about feelings from age three? 8:34–17:59 3 What signs indicate a child may be experiencing a mental health challenge? 17:59–44:16

Speakers

1 identified

Debbie Reber 11 min

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Topics in this episode

New York 3 Patreon 1 Maybelline 6 TiltParenting.com 1 Tilt Parenting 2 Debbie Rieber 2 Differently Wired Club 1 Post‑traumatic stress disorder 1 major depressive disorder 1 generalized anxiety disorder 1 National Alliance on Mental Illness 2 Boston Medical Center 1

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Recorded03 Dec 2024

Publisherfeeds.megaphone.fm ↗

Transcriptspeaker-named · 100+ languages

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Show notes

I know that parenting kids who are struggling with mental health challenges can sometimes feel overwhelming, as though we’re not equipped to handle what’s happening. When our kids are going through tough mental health moments, it can be isolating, scary, and exhausting. That’s why I’m so grateful for the work of my guest today, Dr. Christine Crawford, the associate medical director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization. Dr. Crawford is the author of the new 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. It’s an incredibly helpful handbook for any parent navigating this challenging path. The book covers everything from how to talk to our kids about their mental health, to what to do if a long-awaited therapist doesn’t turn out to be the right fit. It also delves into practical and emotional concerns, such as recognizing signs of depression, understanding our critical role as parents in the mental health team, and learning about concepts like the “distress radius” to better gauge the impact of mental health issues. Finally, a quick content warning: this episode includes discussions of suicidal ideation and other sensitive mental health topics. If these are difficult subjects for you, please prioritize your well-being while listening. About Dr. Christine Crawford Christine M. Crawford, MD, MPH is the associate medical director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) which is the country’s largest grassroots mental health organization. She is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Vice Chair of Education at the Boston University School of Medicine. She also provides outpatient psychiatric care to children and adolescents at Boston Medical Center. Additionally, she’s the Medical Director for the Boston Public Health Commission’s School Based Clinician Program in which she provides direct guidance on how best to support the socioemotional wellbeing of children within the Boston Public School System. On behalf of NAMI, she regularly engages with the general public, as well as with organizations, companies, healthcare providers, and fellow clinicians and researchers. She is a trusted source of child mental health expertise for major media outlets including the New York Times, the Washington Post, NPR, the Boston Globe, NBC, and Medscape. She has made on-camera appearances for the Today Show, BBC, and local news affiliates of CBS, Fox, and ABC. She lives with her family in Boston, Massachusetts. Things you'll learn from this episode Why it’s important that we talk openly and frequently with our child about their feelings, starting as early as age three What signs to look for in terms of changes in mood or behavior that might indicate our child is experiencing a mental health challenge Why parental involvement in mental health care is critical for supporting children’s progress Why learning how to manage and tolerate distressing feelings isn’t just for our struggling kids What the “distress radius” is and how to use it to identify the extent and impact of mental health issues within our families How and when to seek community support and other resources when a child is navigating a mental health challenge Resources mentioned National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) 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 by Dr. Christine Crawford You Are Not Alone book website Help for Parents! Symptoms and Steps for Kids' Mental Health Struggles (GoToHealth Media YouTube video) Debbie Reber Shares Her Best Self-Care Strategies 11 Ideas for Boosting Your Self-Care (PDF) Debbie’s Self-Care Planner Template Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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