Can a teen be made to get a psych eval? How?

[cave canem]

I am having trouble keeping up with my own threads about my son.  The real issue--or what appears to be--keeps shifting.

I am not concerned about an immediate threat to safety, but someone needs to look at him and make sure nothing more than transient teen stuff is happening.

I do not know how to make this happen if he doesn't want to do it. 

Is there a way?

[kiwik]

I am guessing the only way is committal for a psych evaluation as it is for adults.

[katilac]

You can't force him to talk, and that's the only way they could figure anything out. 

I'm sorry, that's a tough spot to be in. 

[fairfarmhand]

I would start with your family doctor. Some can be surprisingly good at this kind of thing, steering a young person to a wise decision. I would call the office beforehand with your concerns. I’ve done this.

[unsinkable]

Some places/localities have a mobile outreach program for mental health evals. 2 professionals come to person's home and evaluate/assess the individual to see if the person needs services and how serious the crisis is.

[PeterPan]

Another route would be to schedule a counseling session for yourself, possibly with a licensed social worker, and talk through what you're seeing and what your options are. It takes a lot of sessions to unpack what is going on in the teenage mind, even if he decides to go. Getting things off your chest and getting some outside perspective might be enough or a start.

[freesia]

9 hours ago, PeterPan said:

Another route would be to schedule a counseling session for yourself, possibly with a licensed social worker, and talk through what you're seeing and what your options are. It takes a lot of sessions to unpack what is going on in the teenage mind, even if he decides to go. Getting things off your chest and getting some outside perspective might be enough or a start.

This is an excellent idea. 

Many teens won't cooperate with counseling, but working with a parent can be very successful.  I have seen that work a number of times with great results. It's not that the child's issues are the parent's fault,  but more about learning to respond in ways that lead the teen toward healthier thought patterns. 

At the very least, it will help you cope with this difficult time you are in with your son. 

[Janeway]

If he is under 18 yrs old and you have the money to pay, you can generally take him in. You could start with a psychologist to do a full psychological evaluation. That is what I did with my son last year. His problems were a bit different, but I think you could go this way at least for a start. 

[umsami]

For us, it started with a local therapist (recommended by a friend as affordable).  Child didn't want to go talk with her, but agreed to go once, and decided it wasn't too bad.

After a month or two, she said that their issues warranted a psychiatrist....so we went there and child was put on meds.  Was a trial of meds.

A well regarded Partial Hospitalization Program has been recommended twice, but it is not covered by our insurance.  

 

[kirag714]

17 hours ago, Thatboyofmine said:

Never mind... I’ll leave my post though, in case someone is interested. 

Could you send me an invite? I have two children who struggle a lot with anxiety and depression. Thank you.

To the OP - we have been there. Things had to get pretty bad before my daughter would agree to see someone, and in the meantime my husband and I did see a therapist. That ended up being very helpful because the therapist we were seeing was able to recommend someone for my daughter, and when we met this therapist we knew that she would be a perfect match for DD. So when DD was finally ready to see someone, it made it much easier to get it set up. They ended up working together for many years, and it made a huge difference.