You Are Not Alone - by Ken Duckworth (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The perfect follow-up to You Are Not Alone a guide for parents, educators, caregivers, and mental health professionals on how to navigate mental healthcare for the young people in their lives.

A growing number of children and teens in the U.S. are struggling with mental health conditions, but parents, teachers, and other caregivers are often at a loss when concerns arise for their own child. Are your preschooler's constant tantrums normal for their age, or evidence of a developmental difficulty? Is puberty or depression to blame for your pre-teen's reticence? Is my child in the wrong school, or being influenced by the wrong friends? Am I a bad parent or teacher, or am I overreacting? What exactly should I do?

In You Are Not Alone for Parents and Caregivers, child psychiatrist and NAMI's Associate Medical Director Dr. Christine Crawford provides a comprehensive, compassionate, and practical resource for anyone concerned about a child's mental health. Drawing on her own clinical experience and guidance from leading experts, Dr. Crawford provides a lens through which to understand the many complex factors affecting children's mental health. Analyzing young people from preschool to high school, she shares insights into how mental health conditions may manifest at different ages, what kind of interventions may be necessary, and what to do to help kids thrive. Throughout, the book channels the collective wisdom of the NAMI community. Parents, caregivers, and young people themselves share personal stories about their paths to recovery, ensuring readers know that they are not alone.

Review Quotes

"Powerful and poignant, this book is for anyone who has struggled with mental health challenges. As a therapist myself, I value the bravery with which these people share their personal experiences to help destigmatize mental health for others. Let's talk about it all." --Lori Gottlieb, author of Maybe You Should Talk to Someone

"In this invaluable book, Dr. Duckworth amplifies the voices of real people who have dealt with mental illness, both doctors and patients. His crowd-sourced method will help people facing similar challenges feel connected to a vast community. If you read this book, you cannot feel alone in your struggles." --Andrew Solomon, author of The Noonday Demon and Far from the Tree

"Wonderful and necessary. Dr. Duckworth provides excellent clinical information and practical advice, placing it within the deeply human context provided by those who know firsthand the pain of depression, trauma, anxiety, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia." --Kay Redfield Jamison, PhD, professor of psychiatry, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and author of An Unquiet Mind

"Families dealing with mental illness, which means virtually all families, need a guide that conveys hope, wisdom, and actionable information. You Are Not Alone is that guide. Unlike previous books, this is a practical guide to help all of us navigate the stormy seas of a loved one's mental illness. A must-read." --Thomas Insel, MD, former director of the National Institutes of Mental Health and author of Healing

"A unique, hopeful catalog of first-person lived experience with mental health collated by a humane, experienced clinician. These shared journeys will help others feel less isolated and overwhelmed. Highly recommended as an essential guide for every physician, mental health provider, and program dealing with any aspect of mental health. You Are Not Alone is a treasure." --Bruce D. Perry, MD, PhD, author of What Happened to You

"An important book for mental health practitioners and clients alike, You Are Not Alone emphasizes the power of community. This wonderful book poignantly highlights the struggles and successes of individuals with mental health conditions and presents comprehensive, useful information from leading experts. Dr. Duckworth has provided an impressive guide for coping with mental health challenges through connection with others." --Judith S. Beck, PhD, President, Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavior Therapy

About the Author

Christine Crawford, MD, is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Boston University School of Medicine. 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. She is also the Associate Medical Director for NAMI, having been hand-picked by Dr. Ken Duckworth, author of YOU ARE NOT ALONE. 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 also 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 makes regular, on-camera appearances for the Today Show, Black News Channel, and local news affiliates of CBS, Fox, and ABC. She lives with her family in Boston, MA.