Looking for Canadian Youth to Interview for My Mental Health Book for Parents

I am writing a book for parents who have a child who is struggling with mental illness. The book will be published by HarperCollins Canada in 2014.

To make the book as helpful as possible, I would like to obtain some input from Canadian young people who are living with (or who have experienced) mental illness. I have created a questionnaire that covers such topics as diagnosis, treatment, sources of support, and advice to others.

If you or someone you know would be interested in contributing to my research, please contact me at annmdouglas@gmail.com. 

Thank you.

Looking for Parents to Interview for My New Book

I am just starting work on my latest book project -- a book for parents who have children who are struggling with depression, anxiety, and other types of mental health issues including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.  I also intend to write about the struggles faced by children and youth with ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, eating disorders, and children who have experienced trauma.

The book will be published by HarperCollins Canada in Fall 2014. ​

I am looking to interview approximately 50 to 75 Canadian parents for this book. Specifically, I am looking to interview parents who have at least one child who has struggled with some sort of mental health issue and who are eager to offer support to and/or share what they have learned with other parents.

The interviews will be conducted between mid-April and late June via a series of eight questionnaires (consisting of approximately 10 questions each)  that will cover such topics as obtaining a diagnosis, advocating for your child (and teaching your child self-advocacy skills), parenting a child with a mental health issue, and ​caring for yourself and the rest of your family. The questionnaires can be completed at your own pace so that you can work them around your family's busy schedule.

​Each parent who completes at least 75% of the ​questionnaires will be acknowledged in the book's acknowledgments (with his/her permission). He/she will also receive a signed copy of the book and be invited to book-related events when the book is launched in Fall 2014. 

This book is important to me because I have lived through much of what I will be writing about. All four of my children have dealt with one or more of the issues that fall underneath the mental health umbrella. My daughter has written about her struggles with an eating disorder and depression. My three sons struggled with ADHD during their growing up years. My youngest son has Asperger's. And I am living with -- and mostly thriving with -- Bipolar II.​

If you think you might be interested in ​participating in this project, please get in touch. 

I am also interested in hearing from mental health researchers who would like to flag their latest child/youth mental health research for me and any Canadian ​mental health-related organizations who would like to have a conversation about what their organizations can bring to this project.

Thanks.​

Ann Douglas
Author
annmdouglas [ at ] gmail.com