January 28, 2021
To College or Not to College?
About The Episode
How do you even start the college conversation without your child shutting down or storming off? In today’s episode, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Katie Reeves, shares communication strategies for launching meaningful discussions with your teens about college, COVID, mental health, and more.
Listen
Guest Info

Katherine Reeves, PMHNP-BC
Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner at CHC
Katie is an expert in working with suicidal and self-harming adolescents and has experience working in outpatient, in-patient, community outreach, and residential treatment settings as well as working in marginally housed and LGBTQ+ communities. She provides primary psychiatric care to children and teens including medication management, individual and group therapy.
Katie is a Bay Area native. She grew up in Palo Alto, went to Gunn High School, and now lives in San Francisco.
Show Notes
College is a big decision, especially for those with mental health challenges and even more so during a pandemic. Thankfully, our guest on today’s podcast is an expert at getting adolescents to open up, let their guards down and feel heard. Hear from Katie Reeves, Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner at CHC, about strategies to foster healthy conversations on even the toughest topics. Katie talks about the importance of setting goals, asking questions, validating teens’ feelings and putting ourselves in their shoes. Still at an impasse? Try her two-step process. And remember: it’s OK to tell our kids that we don’t have all the answers, that we’re nervous about the conversation, or frustrated that we don’t know how to help. It’s the perfect opportunity for parents to show our kids how human we are.
Find us online at podcasts.chconline.org or email me at podcasts@chconline.org. Find us on Facebook @chc.paloalto, Twitter and Instagram @CHC_paloalto. YouTube: youtube.com/user/chconlinepaloalto. And we are on LinkedIn. Subscribe to Voices of Compassion on Apple podcasts, Spotify and other podcast apps! Sign up for our Virtual Village email list at chconline.org/enews so you never miss an update or an episode.
Related Resources
From the CHC Resource Library:
Having Second Thoughts About Sending Your Child Off to College in These Difficult Times?
Managing a Mental Health Condition in College
A Parent’s Guide to Mental Health for College Students
Starting the Conversation: College and Your Mental Health