Many parents who experience depression or anxiety worry about whether they should talk with their children about their illness and how much they should say. The Family Focus DVD helps parents to start the conversation with their children.
Parents experiencingdepression or anxiety should follow three steps to viewing these videos:
1. Watch the ‘parents’ video alone first.
This will help you prepare for talking to your family about your illness. Discuss it with your partner.
2. Watch the children’s video as a family.
This is an intuitive way to start the family discussion about your illness.
Please note that the emotional footage is not intended for your children to view alone. It’s important that you be there to supervise any reactions.
3. Talk about how it applies to the family.
Start by asking children a simple question to introduce discussion, like ‘How did you feel watching the video?’ or ‘What did you learn by watching the video?’.
- Order the DVD hereor watch footage online here.
- More about how to talk about mental illness with your child, including starting the conversation and talking to different age groups.