Being concerned about your teen’s mental health can be a terrifying and lonely experience for any parent.  It’s often hard to distinguish normal teenage behavior from something more concerning, and to know when you just need to be supportive and patient, versus when you need to get outside help. 

Parents often are not familiar with this level of care, so it’s important to communicate that getting intensive, coordinated, interdisciplinary support early can often prevent crisis visits to the ED or avoidable inpatient stays