Behind the Mask: Depression in Adolescent Males

Evidence shows depression is soaring among adolescent males. However, these young men frequently go undiagnosed and untreated, often because they don’t exhibit standard diagnostic criteria. Instead – after a lifetime being told boys don’t cry – they’re angry, oppositional, self-destructive, or simply numb. They hide behind these masks, pushing away the world and hoping nobody notices they’re actually sad, lonely, vulnerable boys.

In this workshop, we’ll develop the knowledge and skills to look behind those masks – in order to address the roots of this covert depression, the impact of the Guy Code, and the Stuckness that results when biological predispositions and environmental stressors collide. Since this Stuckness often includes Big Questions related to death, meaninglessness, and isolation, we’ll consider practical strategies for exploring existential themes with depressed adolescent males.

Often, these masks are attempts to avoid feelings, connections, and life. With that in mind, we’ll identify practical strategies for building therapeutic alliance by improving trustworthiness, nurturing connectedness, and developing therapeutic presence. Throughout the day, we’ll also consider a variety of field-tested strategies to help adolescent males get unstuck, start moving forward, and leave their masks behind.

Workshop attendees can expect to:

• Review current research regarding depression in adolescent males.
• Examine practical strategies for building therapeutic alliance by improving trustworthiness, nurturing connectedness, and developing therapeutic presence.
• Identify relevant ideas from attachment theory and existential psychotherapy.
• Explore a variety of field-tested strategies for addressing learned helplessness, low self-worth, and pessimistic thinking

EPDC CE Hours: 6

Presenter: Emily Hughes LMFT, SUDP, CMHS

Emily is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Substance Use Disorder Professional and a clinical supervisor with the state of Washington. Emily has a private practice that is telehealth based with an office in South King County. She sees adults, teens and couples. Emily has also been involved in training and teaching and has done so with NW ATTC, the Washington Mental Health Counselor’s Association, City University of Seattle and she has been a guest speaking at a variety of schools in the greater Seattle area. Throughout her career she has worked in crisis management and stabilization primarily with youth and young adults. This work was done in a community based mental health agency, as the lead for a crisis outreach team and as a mental health evaluator at Seattle Children’s Hospital emergency room. In her work with clients, her areas of expertise include working with teens, young adults, adults and couples in life transition and mood-related disorders, and around self-harm/suicide assessment, prevention, intervention, and management, the intersection of co-occurring disorders and in clinical supervision.