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Mental Health ____________________________________________ |
There are a large number of children and adolescents with emotional and behavioral problems and too few trained professionals to provide the care and counseling needed. The lack of attention to our children’s mental health comes in part from the stigma attached to mental illness in the United States. People suffering from emotional problems are often seen as crazy, stupid or weak. Mental illness is the second leading cause of disability and premature death in the United States. And suicide is now the third leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10 and 24. Over 95% of people who complete suicide are suffering from an undiagnosed or untreated mental illness. For parents it is important to recognize the signs and to know where to go to get our children and adolescents the help they need. In our adolescents we see behaviors such as cutting, using drugs and alcohol and thoughts of suicide. The 2003 Michigan Youth Risk Behavior survey of high school youth report that one in nine students (11%) attempted suicide in the previous year. This data cannot be ignored. The following links will be a start in providing you with the data and the resources to seek the help needed. Mental illnesses are treatable medical disorders if we get professional help early. 2003 Michigan Youth Risk Behavior Survey – Depression and Suicide The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is conducted every other year in Michigan and assesses a broad range of health practices among a cross section of the state’s high school students. The 2003 Michigan survey included 99 questions covering the behaviors related to the leading causes of mortality and morbidity among both youth and adults. The behaviors are grouped into six general health risk areas: Unintentional injury and violence; tobacco use; alcohol and other drug use; sexual behaviors that contribute to unintended pregnancy or disease; dietary behaviors; and physical inactivity. To view the survey results go to: http://www.emc.cmich.edu/YRBS/2003/default.htm
Children in Need of Help for Emotional Problems The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools provides background information for parents to consider as well as initial questions to ask about what is available for students and families at school. To read Children in Need of Help for Emotional Problems go to: http://www.healthinschools.org/parents/child_emot.htm. Five questions to help parents learn what is available in school. The Center for Health and Health Care in Schools http://www.healthinschools.org/parents/handout7.pdf MINDS - Mental Illness Needs Discussion The MINDS organization is an awareness program that aims at educating young people about mental illness. To achieve this goal, MINDS conducts seminars in high schools throughout the Detroit Metropolitan area. The seminars are free to local schools. The MINDS program brings awareness to the subject of mental illness and also helps to de-stigmatize the disorders. For more information visit their site at: www.mindsporgram.org American Psychological Association The American Psychiatric Association The National Institute on Mental Health The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP)
Suggested Books The Adolescent Depression Workbookby Mary Ellen Copeland & Dr. Stuart Copans. Brattleboro, Vermont: Peach Press (1998). Help ME, I’m Sad: Recognizing, Treating & Preventing Childhood and Adolescent Depression by Dr. David Fassler and Lynne S. Dumas. New York: Penguin Putnam, Inc. (1997). It’s Nobody’s Fault by Harold S. Kplewica, New York: Times Books (1996). Lonely, Sad & Angry: A Parent’s Guide to Depression in Children & Adolescents by Barbara Ingersoll and Sam Goldstein. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell (1995). When Living Hurts by Sol Gordon, Ph.D. Third Edition, URJ Press, New York, NY (2004).
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