Daniels, 1

Megan Daniels

English Composition 1201

Professor Dunham

July 7, 2019

Adolescent Mental Health

Imagine your kid, grandkid, niece, nephew, neighbor, or even friends, if they are between

the ages of 12-20, you might know of their fluctuating moods, after all, they are teenagers, but

when it gets to a different point you may have to ask if they need help. If not, they could be

dealing with serious mental disorders, such as anxiety, depression, or an eating disorder without

your knowledge or support. The teens in your life could be facing life or death situations, in their

head, but you wouldn’t even know about it because most people chalk it up the normal teenage

mood swings. It was important to me to learn more about these things because many of my

friends and close family members have struggled with them. Parents and schools need to

understand and provide more support to adolescents struggling with their mental health because

these teens are resorting to methods like suicide and no one, including schools and family, seems

to be able to help.

Support for people struggling with mental health has come so far in the past couple of

decades. Since mental health presents itself in many ways when people struggle with it, they

don’t always get the help they need. Most people that have kids or teens in their life have

experienced the mood swings or strange behaviors of adolescents, but the key is recognizing

when those teenage normalities become something else, when they become a child having a

battle with themselves everyday. Even if people realize it’s more than just normal teenage
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problems, they think, won’t they just grow out of it? Or they think they'll be fine, if they really

need help, that’s what the school counselors are there for. But when they don’t get help, their

suffering just gets worse and it will affect them for their entire life. Many studies have been

done, showing the effects later in life, when teens suffer from mental health problems.

Studies have been done to try and find better ways to help support adolescents, especially

at school. In one particular study done, two groups of high schoolers were taught different things

about mental health and how to support their peers. “Helping adolescents to better support their

peers with a mental health problem: A cluster-randomised crossover trial of teen Mental Health

First Aid,” is actually a study done in Australia by six psychologists. Even though it was done in

Australia, teens mental health is a topic of discussion all around the world, and teen’s brains

don’t change by country. “Both interventions consisted of three 75-minute classroom sessions,

presented by trained instructors external to the host school, according to a manualised

curriculum. In each intervention, students were provided with a specific programme booklet and

completion certificate.”(640) This basically means that the study consisted of teaching the kids in

increments, called “interventions,” they were taught what mental health is, how to help a friend

who has one, and how to help a friend who is developing one. Teaching mental health was

deemed more important and could save many more lives than first aid training. Mental health

problems for teenagers is a much larger problem than basic health issues. In the end, if schools

would just make teaching mental health to their kids a priority so much could be changed, kids

need to be taught, how to get help, how to help their peers, and just how to better understand

what they are going through. I know that schools must have some regulations and rules they have
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to follow, however it makes children feel uncomfortable and unable to get help when they really

need it.

It’s not just the peers of these struggling adolescents that need to be educated to help

them, the parents and teachers need this information too. A National website aimed towards

parents and teachers, called ​National Institute of Mental Health,​ tries to provide them with the

tools necessary to help these struggling kids. The article states, “I​t can be tough to tell if

troubling behavior in a child is just part of growing up or a problem that should be discussed

with a health professional. But if there are behavioral signs and symptoms that last weeks or

months, and if these issues interfere with the child’s daily life at home and at school, or with

friends, you should contact a health professional,”(2). ​The article lists signs for adults to notice in

kids and teens, for example strange, moody, or violent behavior is always a red flag. It also

provides many resources, support groups, and hotlines that are available to anyone who needs

them. Early diagnosis and therapeutic measures are very important, which is why schools and

parents should be taking steps to open up the discussion and make kids feel safe and educated on

the subject. Currently there are reporting requirements that school officials have to do if they are

told about these things. However, not that many schools include mental health as a learning

requirement for teens in school.

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Fig. 1. Teens struggling to stay in one piece, “Teen Suicide Crisis: Giving a voice to youth

mental health”. October 8, 2018,

https://tickithealth.com/teen-suicide-crisis-giving-a-voice-to-youth-mental-health-2/

Caption: All these teens that are facing mental health issues are slowly deteriorating, but no one

seems to notice.

Another problem they face, is simply people not believing that teens really are struggling

with these deep important issues, just like adults are. Teens are seen as too young by most adults

to understand or really be going through these tough things, but adults need to realize that teens

do go through these things and need the proper treatment, just like adults do. ​Youth Mental

Health​ by Justin Healey discusses different aspects of why mental health problems for teens are

so important to pay attention to and treat. He says, “When they do seek help, some young people

report negative and damaging responses from front-line health professionals, which includes
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dismissiveness, trivialisation and scepticism regarding the motivations for their behaviour (i.e.

just ‘attention seeking’).”(35). The sad truth is that while some teens are attention seeking, most

that look for help but get called this, end up scared to ever ask for help again. It takes a lot of

bravery to admit that something is wrong with you, but then to be ridiculed for it, teens shouldn’t

be put through that, it could end up even being scaring.

As these adolescents age, the misconception that they will grow out of it can cause even

more problems. Struggling with depression, anxiety, bulimia, anorexia, schizophrenia, or any

mental disorder as an adolescent can lead to problems in the future, with focus, connection,

feelings, relationships, drugs or even alcohol. Stopping things before they get too far, early

intervention, and even just supporting each and every person who struggles with these issues is

so important. ​Mental Health Disorders in Adolescents : A Guide for Parents, Teachers, and

Professionals ​tries to give an insight to the help that schools can give. “They may also

communicate with teachers and school officials to help them better understand the difficulties a

student may be having and to advocate for the adolescent to receive the services he or she needs

at the school.”(21). School can provide some relief to a struggling student, if contacted correctly

and given the right tools.

Other people argue that it isn’t the effort that people and schools are putting in to help the

teens, it’s the fact that the treatment these teens are getting is not very effective. In an interview

on PBS NewsHour called ​Teens at Risk for Suicidal Behavior Despite Mental Health Help,​

Gwen Ifill, Dr. Timothy Lineberry, and Brian Daly discuss why teens are facing this problem.

According to them, over half of the adolescents who were suicidal had already received
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treatment, with 1,400 teens taking their own life in 2010 (3). Their argument that the energy

spent trying to help teens would be better suited fixing treatment is valid, but it should be spent

trying to erase the taboo around adolescent mental health and providing a more solid support

base for these teens to reach out to in a time of need.

If people realized that there is no reason to avoid talking about it, it would automatically

make treatment work a whole lot better. Brian Daly even says so later in the interview, stating, “​I

think the fact of the matter, even counselors who work with these adolescents can be

discomforted by working with, you know, a suicidal teenager.”(40) Both ​Dr. Timothy Lineberry

and Brian Daly, a university psychologist, have degrees in the field, making their statements very

credible. By opening up the dialogue and allowing everyone to talk more freely on this subject, it

should be able to fix a little of what needs to change in the treatment.

One conversation I had with my friend particularly sparked my interest in the subject. We

were discussing possible ways to help 2 of our mutual friends with their depression. Since I still

attend my high school we discussed going to the counselor and how they could help. “I’m going

to go the counselor and see if they can do something, you wanna come with?” My friend asked

me this question and to try and help, I accompanied him to speak to the counselor. I was very

anxious about this, but when discussing it with the counselor, I became annoyed at how little she

could do. I feel like all teachers and parents feel like this though, there isn’t much they can do or

they don’t know what to do without seemingly making things worse. This is why they need to

start learning how to help teens so they don’t feel so alone or desperate. More laws allowing

schools to provide a trusted adult need to be passed and just simple classes where people learn
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how to comfort a teen who is struggling. By taking these small steps, who knows how many

young important lives could be saved.

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Works Cited

“Child and Adolescent Mental Health.” ​National Institute of Mental Health​, U.S. Department of

Health and Human Services, May 2019,

www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/child-and-adolescent-mental-health/index.shtml​.

Accessed on 23 June 2019.

Hart, Laura M. Morgan, Amy J. Rossetto, Alyssia. Kelly, Claire M. Mackinnon, Andrew. Jorm,

Anthony F. “Helping adolescents to better support their peers with a mental health

problem: A cluster-randomised crossover trial of teen Mental Health First Aid”

Austrailian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry,​ ​Vol. 52, Iss. 7, July 2018, pp.

638-651​, ​https://journals-ohiolink-edu.sinclair.ohionet.org​ Accessed on 21 June 2019.

Hazen, Eric P. et al.“Mental Health Disorders in Adolescents : A Guide for Parents, Teachers,

and Professionals” Rutgers University Press, 2010. ​EBSCOhost​,

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=436704&site=ehost-live.

Accessed on 23 June 2019.

Healey, Justin. ​Youth Mental Health.​ The Spinney Press, 2017. ​EBSCOhost,​

search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1555917&site=ehost-live.

Accessed on 23 June 20​.

“It's OK to Talk About Youth Mental Health- Video Feature.” ​KidCentral TN -

KidCentralTN.com,​ 2018,
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www.kidcentraltn.com/health/mental-emotional-health/it-s-ok-to-talk-about-youth-menta

l-health--video-feature.html​. Accessed on 23 June 2019.

“School-Based Mental Health Services.” ​National Association of School Psychologists (NASP),​

2016,

www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/mental-health/sc

hool-psychology-and-mental-health/school-based-mental-health-services​. Accessed on 23

June 2019.

​ erformance by ​PBS
Teens at Risk for Suicidal Behavior Despite Mental Health Help. P

NewsHour correspondent Gwen Ifill, Dr. Timothy Lineberry of the Mayo Clinic, and

Drexel University psychologist, Brian Daly. NewsHour Productions LLC, January 09,

2013. ​Sinclair Database,​

https://fod-infobase-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=58048​ Accessed

on 21 June 2019.

“Teen Suicide Crisis: Giving a voice to youth mental health”. ​TickIt​. October 8, 2018,

https://tickithealth.com/teen-suicide-crisis-giving-a-voice-to-youth-mental-health-2/

Acessesed on 21, July 2019