What if I Say the Wrong Thing? Tips for Communicating When Your Loved One Is Depressed
When your spouse, partner, or adult child is depressed, how can you talk with them about your concerns, frustrations, and fears? Caregivers often worry about saying the wrong thing to their loved one, especially when depression is involved. Fortunately, there are ways to have effective, respectful, and productive conversations, even when your loved one is in a depressive episode. In this webinar, Dr. Chris Segrin shares how caregivers can communicate effectively with a loved one about their depression, manage conflict, maintain their own boundaries, and offer hope to a person living with depression. (Looking for communication tips for talking to teens? See our teen communication webinar.)
Presenters
Chris Segrin, PhD
Chris Segrin, PhD, is Professor and Department Head of the Department of Communication,
and Adjunct Professor of Psychology and Family Studies, at the University of Arizona
College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. As a behavioral scientist specializing in
interpersonal relationships and mental health, Dr. Segrin’s research focuses on social skills,
relationship development and satisfaction, and problems such as depression, anxiety,
loneliness, and marital distress. Recently he has been conducting research studies on the
intergenerational transmission of divorce, how social skills deficits make people vulnerable to
depression, and why lonely people have more health problems than connected people. He
teaches classes in interpersonal communication, nonverbal communication, persuasion,
marriage and family, and research methods. Dr. Segrin is author of the books Interpersonal
Processes in Psychological Problems and Family Communication and was editor of the
journal Communication Theory from 2003 to 2005. Dr. Segrin has received six teaching
awards combined from the University of Wisconsin, University of Kansas, and University of
Arizona. He earned his PhD at the University of Wisconsin.