We have had two issues come up in our life the past few years and in both cases (two years ago my son told us he is gay and we're also dealing with some depressive issues on his dad's part- pre announcment of our son by the way.) At any rate, in both cases, I established relationships with a counselor (two different gentlemen) between my son and the counselor. I felt it very important that I provide him with a place to go to if things got difficult for him and he felt he couldn't come to me or his dad. My son has seen them both - is very comfortable with them and knows how to contact them on his own. He appreciated it, but more importantly, I felt comforable that I had provided him with a safe resource to turn to in a possible time of need.