I am trying to support my 17yo son with depression, which was diagnosed about 2 months ago. He has been taking medication for about 3 weeks and seems to be noticing an improvement.
His situation is this: auditory processing disorder and anxiety contributed to reduced functioning at school, which possibly contributed to his depression. He has missed so much school that it would be very difficult and stressful for him to return to try to finish Yr11 this year, and he would be unlikely to pass at this stage. My son has said he wants to do 'something', so that's positive.
So, after speaking to school welfare coordinators, etc. it has been suggested that he could consider a TAFE course for next year. We have the remainder of the year in which to try to find out what that may be. My son is understandably having trouble making decisions, let alone a major one such as changing the direction of his education.
His last consultation with his psychiatrist left me confused - that my role as parent is not to make or even really to direct his decision, but to get him thinking about what he needs to 'find out' or what he 'needs to know' so that he can make this decision himself. I suppose the thinking is that he is more likely to feel ownership of this decision if it is his. I'm not sure that I agree with this, or that I'm capable of following this line of thinking, when all I want to do is help my son. I feel like I'm not helping at all and that leaving him to make this decision himself is expecting too much. There's an important concept here that I'm just not getting. Can anyone relate?
