From two leading child and adolescent mental health experts comes a guide for the parents of every college and college-bound student who want to know what’s normal mental health and behavior, what’s not, and how to intervene before it’s too late.

“The title says it all...Chock full of practical tools, resources and the wisdom that comes with years of experience, The Stressed Years of their Lives is destined to become a well-thumbed handbook to help families cope with this modern age of anxiety.”

― Brigid Schulte, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author of Overwhelmed and director of the Better Life Lab at New America

All parenting is in preparation for letting go. However, the paradox of parenting is that the more we learn about late adolescent development and risk, the more frightened we become for our children, and the more we want to stay involved in their lives. This becomes particularly necessary, and also particularly challenging, in mid- to late adolescence, the years just before and after students head off to college. These years coincide with the emergence of many mood disorders and other mental health issues.

When family psychologist Dr. B. Janet Hibbs's own son came home from college mired in a dangerous depressive spiral, she turned to Dr. Anthony Rostain. Dr. Rostain has a secret superpower: he understands the arcane rules governing privacy and parental involvement in students’ mental health care on college campuses, the same rules that sometimes hold parents back from getting good care for their kids. Now, these two doctors have combined their expertise to corral the crucial emotional skills and lessons that every parent and student can learn for a successful launch from home to college.

Anthony L. Rostain, M.D., M.A. is Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania where he is Vice Chair of Education for the Department of Psychiatry, responsible for overseeing medical student education, residency and fellowship training. A graduate of Yale University and the NYU School of Medicine, he is triple boarded in pediatrics, adult psychiatry, and child & adolescent psychiatry. His primary clinical focus is "lifespan neurodevelopmental psychiatry," treating patients of all ages with Attention-Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder, Autistic Spectrum Disorders (including Asperger Syndrome / High Functioning Autism), Tourette Syndrome, Learning Disabilities (Verbal and Nonverbal) and social communication disorders.

Dr. Rostain is an attending and supervising psychiatrist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and at Penn Behavioral Health of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. He is Co-Director of the Adult ADHD Treatment and Research Program and the Adult Social Learning Disorders Program and is Director of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Behavioral Health Center's Developmental Neuropsychiatry Program. His research interests have focused on improving clinical outcomes for patients with ADHD and other neuropsychiatric disorders, and in creating effective service systems for high risk children, youth and families. He is co-author, with Dr. Russell Ramsay, of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Adult ADHD: An Integrative Psychosocial and Medical Approach, Second Edition, and of The Adult ADHD Tool Kit: Using CBT to Facilitate Coping Inside and Out, both published by Routledge in 2015.