Focusing on adolescent depression and bipolar disorder, Oxford University Press has published the latest entries in a series of books designed to aid parents in helping their teenagers deal with a variety of mental health conditions. The books If Your Adolescent Has Bipolar Disorder and If Your Adolescent Has Depression are the newest in a collection of informative and authoritative guides for parents to understand and help teens with a variety of adolescent mental health conditions.
The books are part of a series developed by the Adolescent Mental Health Initiative, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) and The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands, under the guidance of series editor Patrick E. Jamieson, Ph.D., director of the policy center’s Annenberg Health and Risk Communication Institute.
The two books, published earlier this year, provide updated and expanded information about bipolar disorder and depression, conditions that were originally combined in a single 2005 volume. “Experts’ understanding of the disorders and treatment options has expanded,” said Jamieson. “Dividing this state-of-the-art knowledge into two books makes it possible to provide a more expansive, nuanced explanation of each.”
Each guide describes the condition as well as treatment options and their efficacy, combining state-of-the-art information with the hands-on knowledge of parents who have experience helping teens with these conditions. Both accessible and comprehensive, the guides offer guidance on school behaviors, as well as sensitive issues such as sex, alcohol, and drugs.
If Your Adolescent Has Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar disorder is a condition that affects 3% of adolescents, about 1 in 33 of those between the ages of 10 and 19, similar to the rate for adults. “If Your Adolescent Has Bipolar Disorder” offers information to assist readers in understanding the condition and treatment options, as well as how to handle the consequences of bipolar disorder during school and how to survive crises. “A growing body of research,” the book notes, “now shows that early diagnosis and treatment of bipolar disorder may reduce the severity of the disease, both now and in the future.”
“This up-to-date compendium provides a roadmap for families seeking answers for their teen’s extreme moods,” said Mary A. Fristad, Ph.D., A.B.P.P., director of academic affairs and research development at Nationwide Children’s Hospital Big Lots Behavioral Health Services, as well as “critical information on how to obtain an accurate diagnosis and evidence-based treatment … ”
The book’s authors are the late Dwight L. Evans, M.D., Tami D. Benton, M.D., and the journalist Katherine Ellison.
If Your Adolescent Has Depression
Depression was already one of the most common mental illnesses worldwide before rates began to climb in recent years. As this book notes, the recent rise has been especially notable for youths ages 12 to 17, a subset of the 10- to 19-year-olds who are defined as adolescents by the World Health Organization. In 2017, according to the Pew Research Center, 13% of those ages 12 to 17 said they had experienced a depressive episode in the past year.
“If Your Adolescent Has Depression,” designed for parents and other adults who are in contact with afflicted teens, is the definitive guide to understanding and getting effective help for adolescents with depression, combining current scientific expertise with hands-on advice from parents.
“This is an essential resource for any parent who is worried that their child may be struggling with depression,” said Tracy R.G. Gladstone, Ph.D., associate professor of behavioral and social sciences at the Brown University School of Public Health.
This volume was authored by the late Dwight L. Evans, M.D., Moira A. Rynn, M.D., and journalist Katherine Ellison.
About the authors
Dwight L. Evans, M.D., a co-author of these two volumes, was until his passing in 2022 the Joseph and Madonna DiGiacomo Professor and Professor of Psychiatry, Medicine, and Neuroscience at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He also was chair of the Annenberg Foundation Adolescent Mental Health Commission on Depression and Bipolar Disorder and an editor of “Treating and Preventing Adolescent Mental Health Disorders,” which was published in its second edition in 2017.
“Sadly, Dwight Evans, who played a key role in the development of the project, passed away as these books were coming to fruition,” said Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center. “His leadership made this project possible. This book, his earlier one on depression and bipolar disorder, and ‘Treating and Adolescent Mental Health Disorders,’ which won the Association of American Publishers’ 2005 award for excellence in clinical medicine, are part of his living legacy.”
Tami D. Benton, M.D., co-author of “If Your Adolescent Has Bipolar Disorder,” is the Psychiatrist-in-Chief and Executive Director and Chair of the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
Moira A. Rynn, M.D., co-author of “If Your Adolescent Has Depression,” is Chair for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University School of Medicine.
Katherine Ellison, who co-authored both volumes, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning former foreign correspondent, and author or coauthor of a dozen other books, including books on mental health including “Buzz: A Year of Paying Attention” and “ADHD: What Everyone Needs to Know.”
About the adolescent mental health books and series
Read about the books on Oxford University Press’s website.
Read an excerpt of “If Your Adolescent Has Depression” on Medium. Read an excerpt of “If Your Adolescent Has Bipolar Disorder” on Medium.
“If Your Adolescent Has Depression: An Essential Resource for Parents” | Oxford University Press | May 2023 | Paperback | $15.95 |288 pages | ISBN: 978019763607 | Publisher’s Website
“If Your Adolescent Has Bipolar Disorder: An Essential Resource for Parents” | Oxford University Press | May 2023 | Paperback |$15.95 | 312 Pages | ISBN: 9780197636022 | Publisher’s Website
Additional books in the If Your Adolescent Has series can be found here at the Adolescent Mental Health Initiative website. Other recently published titles in this series include:
- “If Your Adolescent Has an Eating Disorder” (Oxford University Press, 2020) Download this book for free in PDF format.
- “If Your Adolescent Has ADHD” (Oxford University Press, 2018) Download this book for free in PDF format.
