The Kid Who Knows Your Teen Better Than You Think
When another teenager tells you they're worried about your child, it can catch you off guard. Chris Coulter walks parents through what happens next: thanking the friend, what to ask, why you shouldn't promise secrecy, how to talk to your own teen without exposing who told you, and why that friendship is worth protecting. Calm, practical guidance for a conversation nobody prepares you for.
Yesterday, I Swam With A Shark. Today, Depression.
Chris Coulter was in Panama, a day after snorkelling above a reef shark, when a wave of depression hit while he was washing dishes. He writes about the judge in his head, why grief lasts while depression comes in waves, the time it nearly took his life, and the small things that help. A personal look at being grateful and depressed at the same time. Written from his jungle cabin.
If You Were Struggling, Wouldn't You Want Someone to Notice?
Most of us ask “How are you?” and accept “Good” without thinking twice. Chris Coulter, founder of The MentorWell, said “Good” for two years when he wasn’t. Here’s how to ask the second question when a friend, coworker, neighbour or teenager hasn’t seemed like themselves, what to say, what to do with the answer, and two free tools: the Teen Signal Check and the Friend Signal Check.
My Sons Asked Me a Question I Couldn't Ignore
Chris Coulter shelved a tool for teens worried about a friend. Then his sons Zac and Sawyer talked him into finishing it. The Friend Signal Check is free, needs no email and is built for anyone 14 and up who's noticing something off with a friend. It's an awareness tool, and Chris is inviting practitioners to scrutinize it.
My 85-Year-Old Dad Noticed Something I Hadn't.
Chris Coulter, founder of The MentorWell, writes from a cabin in the Panamanian rainforest after 15 hard years: losing his daughter Maddie, losing his mom this year, and helping his 85-year-old dad through grief. On a WhatsApp call, his dad told him he looked happy. A personal story about supporting a grieving parent, sons who now mentor kids through loss, and not having a plan for once.
The Day I Realized I Didn't Know My Own Child
Chris Coulter thought his daughter Maddie was just being a teenager. Eye rolls, silence, withdrawal. He told himself it was a phase. One night he found her at a party in distress. He told her tomorrow would be a new day. That night she attempted suicide. This article is about what he missed, what he's learned since, and why he built The Mentor Well — a mentorship platform for teens and families navigating mental health challenges. Includes free tools and resources for parents.
It’s Not One Bad Day That Worries Me
One bad day tells you very little about your teenager. Slammed doors and tears are part of growing up. Chris Coulter, a dad who spent ten years learning what he missed, explains what makes him lean in: several signs stacking up, a shift that lasts weeks or months, or a kid who stops showing you the mess. He also explains why Teen Signal Check answers aren’t weighted equally.
What Maddie Taught Me About Silence
I was looking for silence. For withdrawal. For the obvious signs. Maddie never became that kid. She stayed funny, sharp, connected — and I missed everything underneath. What I know now is that the signal is not always what you expect. Sometimes it is the kid who is always okay.
To the Parent Thinking, “This Could Never Happen to Us”
Your teenager says they’re fine. Most of the time, they are. Chris Coulter, a father who lost his daughter, writes to the parent quietly thinking “this could never happen to us.” He covers why good marks and a smile can hide a struggle, how to tell moody from something more, and what 14,000 parents learned from the free Teen Signal Check. Calm, honest and practical.
Your EAP Can’t Help Someone Who Won’t Ask for Help
Your EAP is built for the moment someone asks for help. Most employees carrying an aging parent, grief, a family member who drinks, money worries or a struggling teenager never get there. Chris Coulter explains why people stay quiet, what managers say that shuts them down, and how First Conversation Coaching and LifeLine Parent Workshops reach people earlier.
You Got Green on the Teen Signal Check. Keep Paying Attention
A social worker asked Chris Coulter if he could guarantee Teen Signal Check results. He can’t, and nobody honest can. This post explains what a green result means for parents of teens: what you noticed, on one day, didn’t raise concern. Kids move, and teen mood changes can show up later. Learn when to worry, why to keep paying attention, and how to check again as part of the Road to 100k.
They Call When They Need Money. You Just Want to Know They're Okay
When a child moves away for university, work or a place of their own, many parents only hear from them when rent or a bill is due. Chris Coulter explains why silence is missing information, how to tell independence from a change worth noticing, and how Teen Signal Check 3.0 now lets parents answer “I don’t know” instead of guessing their way to a Green result.
I Pulled Over. My Son Finally Told Me
My son kept telling me he was fine. He wasn’t. Chris Coulter, founder of The MentorWell, shares the day he pulled the car over, and what parents can do when their teenager won’t talk to them. Practical ways to stay calm, what to say when your teen opens up, how to read the eye roll, the small habits that build trust, and when to get professional help for your teenager in Canada.
I Had Maddie for Fourteen Years
Chris Coulter lost his daughter Maddie in 2015, when she was 14. For about ten years he carried one sentence: her life was taken from him. Anger and guilt came with it. What loosened it were the stories other kids told him about Maddie, including how she stood up for a swim teammate. A father’s honest account of anger, gratitude after losing a child, and why the anger still visits.
7 Things I’d Tell a Parent in the First Years After Losing a Child
Chris Coulter lost his daughter Maddie to suicide in 2015, when she was 14. Eleven years later, after telling his own father the truth about early grief, he rewrote what he’d tell a parent in the first years after losing a child: no schedule, a brain that changes, friends who go quiet, saying their name, and why some of it might make you angry.
I Used to Judge Parents Who Lost a Child to Suicide
When a parent loses a child to suicide, people quietly judge. Chris Coulter used to as well, before he became one of those parents. After more than 3,000 conversations with families of struggling teens, he has found almost no common thread in who they are: married or divorced, rich or broke, every faith and background. What the kids shared was feeling more alone than supported.
The Emotional Load Economy: The Cost Your Company Is Already Paying
Every employee brings their life to work: the struggling kid, the sick parent, the divorce. Employers already pay for that weight in lost attention, slower judgment and quiet resignations. Chris Coulter ran a 70-person company, then lived his own hardest years in silence. He explains the Emotional Load Economy and why every workplace is either adding weight to its people or taking some off.
Somebody Has to Notice First
A mental health practitioner told Chris Coulter he had no right to offer parents the Teen Signal Check because he isn't licensed. He agrees he doesn't diagnose. Here he explains how The MentorWell grew from teen mentorship into tools that help parents spot teen mental health warning signs sooner, why mentorship and therapy do different jobs, and when to get professional help for your teenager.
I Made the Rules. My Kids Lived With Them
Chris Coulter, founder of The MentorWell, looks back on five parenting mistakes he'd take back. He made house rules alone, broke his own phone rules and fixed problems his kids only wanted heard. He also reacted to what his teenager told him before he reacted to her. For parents of teens wondering how to talk to a teenager without them shutting down, and how to share the rule-making without giving up the final say.
"Fine" Is the Answer We Taught Our Kids to Give Us
Ask a teenager how their day was and you'll hear "fine." In my LifeLine Parent Workshops, almost every parent says one of the same five things next, and most of them end the conversation early. Here's why "How was your day?" works like a greeting, how to talk to your teenager without them shutting down, and two questions parents tell me get a real answer, even when they still get the eye roll.