Beyond the Blues: A Workbook to Help Teens Overcome Depression

by Lisa M. Schab

Many people experience depression at one time or another in their lives, but during the adolescent years, the vast number of physical, emotional, and mental changes that occur make teens even more susceptible to feelings of confusion or sadness. However your depression originates, you must to learn to handle it so that you can manage the stresses of daily life. The activities in Beyond the Blues can help you cope with sad and difficult feelings, find new ways to make friends, and deal with conflicts. Little by little and on your own schedule, you can make small changes in your life that will lead you to a brighter, more enjoyable future. Since everyone is different and heals in slightly different ways, this book presents a wide variety of exercises. Know that as you work through this book, you are doing something good for yourself. You are learning to cope with your feelings and take care of yourself in a healthy way. You can learn to manage depression just like you learned to tie your shoes or read and write. Just give it a chance and be patient with yourself. You deserve to feel good, and you will if you keep working at it! If you're feeling depressed, don't be afraid to reach out for help.This workbook offers things you can do, both on your own and with a counselor, to start feeling more like yourself again.  

Genres: Counselling, Nonfiction, Self Help, Mental Health, Psychology, Parenting

184 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2008

About the author

LCSW

Reviews

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This workbook had some decent recommendations, but I also found some of the information a bit basic or outdated. I think it's a good starting point for teens or new therapists, but seasoned therapists probably won't get much out of this.

[sude]

doktorum depresyon icin verdi ise yaradi mi hauie

[Amy Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lisa M. Schab LCSW does an excellent job explaining the facts about depression and clearly outlining strategies that teens (or anybody) can use to process their feelings and disrupt the cycles that tend to perpetuate depression. She provides plenty of simple activities that most teens can incorporate into daily life as they go through treatment. These activities involve engaging creativity, emotion, and reaching out to others as well as modifying personal thought patterns. My only concern, hence withholding one star, is that I believe this book really should be viewed as a supplement to professional help rather than, "If it gets really bad, see a professional." For example, suicide risk is not even seriously discussed until well into the book. While I don't think it helps teens or parents to freak out every time someone shows signs of depression, suicide is always a risk. In fact, with any mental illness, it's a risk, and depression is one of the most common mental illnesses.

This book is a terrific resource and I will definitely recommend it to clients. I think it's a wonderful adjunct to in-person therapy, and includes plenty of terrific suggestions in a user-friendly format. I'm just not sure I would want a teen turned-loose relying only on this. All that said, if a teen suffering from depression gets a hold of this book, maybe it will be enough to push them to get help and make the best of it when they do.

[Kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this workbook does a great job of being geared toward teens and not being too young for them while conveying practical and helpful information. It provides many thoughtful and helpful activities for teens. It's not perfect but one of the best out there that I've found.

[Susan]

4 11 16. thumbed through jessica lindsey's copy today. she loves the series. looks like good stuff with a lot of exercises including scaling intensity of emotions. [see concern notes re anger mgt one.] think she said a lot of brain science in these.