Alan Hu Foundation to host cognitive behavioral therapy webinar

Since fewer pharmaceutical treatment options are recommended for youth than adults, talk-based therapies offer a broader range of options for younger patients, with less risk of side effects.

“Fortunately, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is an empirically supported psychosocial intervention for depression in youth,” Friedberg said. “This webinar will look at common signs of depression in youth, ways to identify these symptoms, and an overview of what parents and youth can expect from CBT-oriented treatment.”

The Alan Hu Foundation is a non-profit organization founded to raise awareness and reduce stigma around mental health issues, as well as to support research into treatment options. It was created by Xiaofang Chen and Chih-Ching Hu in memory of their son Alan Hu, who committed suicide at the age of 15 in 2018 after mental health problems.

“His pain was real and excruciating, but invisible,” Chen told the foundation’s website. “There was no thermometer showing a fever, no imaging showing a lump inside, and no blood test showing an elevated white blood cell count.”

The foundation specifically seeks to address problems with existing mental health care practices that Chen believes led to his son’s death.

“Mental disorders are far from rare, but talking about them is rare,” Chen said. “They scare people because there is so little understanding of them. People have overcome many other illnesses because trained health care providers and appropriate treatments were available. The same thing will happen with mental illness when people start talking about it. them, paying attention to them. them and get a better understanding of them.

The free webinar with Friedberg is scheduled for September 21 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The meeting link is available upon registration here.