My 14yo DD is I believe suffering from depression, as I have posted on here before. I think it, our GP thinks it, some of the more experienced teachers in school think it. In the worst of her low moods she panics and is unable to stay in class; goes on day long crying jags; wants to run away, and indeed occasionally has run away; cuts herself - superficially - with blades; refuses school because, she says, she doesn't have control of her mind; drinks; smokes weed; can't concentrate when she is at school and thus falls behind, thereby increasing her panic and isolating herself from peers who take life more in their stride.Â
She has been referred to CAMHS three times, and the last time time (three months ago) they thought she was merely difficult and manipulative, based on a mood questionnaire (that she freely admits to lying on for fear of being thought crazy!) and an hour long interview during which she projected rude surly teenager throughout.
I am sure she is also difficult and manipulative - she's 14, who isn't at that age - but my immediate problem now is how to get her back to school. Â She plunged into a new low a week ago, her confidence, resilience and self-esteem have plummeted and she hasn't been at school since. We have a TAC meeting coming up involving DD, me, school, CAMHS and GP and I dearly want it to be a real opportunity for all of us to tackle her problems and help her make the most of her chances. At her best she's bright, funny, affectionate, generous and kind. In her darkest place she's a challenge, and while some school personnel are sympathetic to the idea that she is sick, others think she is merely badly behaved and that I am making excuses for her when I say she's depressed without a formal CAMHS diagnosis. Thanks to a dogged GP CAMHS have now agreed to see her again with a view to 1-1 therapy but that may still be a long time coming and meantime she needs to be in school and getting support there.
Does anyone have any advice on how to approach a TAC meeting so as to come out of it with a constructive and practical plan? The last one we had (four months ago, and much has happened since) seemed to get taken up with proliferating theories as to why she was behaving like this rather than looking for practical ways to help her stay focused and learn.
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Child mental health
Managing school when the black dog strikes
10 replies
Scout63 · 18/10/2015 09:46
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