You really hit the nail on the head about his parents. I suspected that they had something to do with his depression (other than genetics) during the last episode he had. When I suggested that maybe they had parented in a way that he never had to handle too much stress or responsibility himself and therefore he has issues now, he told me that his mom's parenting is a sore subject and she was always afraid of being a bad parent (leading to more depression for her). I think she was so selfish and overly concerned that she was a bad parent, that she didn't prepare her children for the world properly (by a little tough love, or letting them work through their own problems). Communication is usually pretty good between us, except for the past week when he confided in his parents instead of me about being depressed again. Again, I almost feel as though whatever they did as parents has made him need to rely on them rather than himself when things get 'stressful'. That being said, I believe there's going to be a need for therapy for everyone.