{"id":12364,"date":"2019-06-19T18:21:58","date_gmt":"2019-06-19T23:21:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mentalhe180dev.wpenginepowered.com\/news\/why-teen-mental-health-needs-to-be-addressed\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T08:32:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T13:32:34","slug":"why-teen-mental-health-needs-to-be-addressed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.grafik.mentalhealthfirstaid.org\/es\/news\/why-teen-mental-health-needs-to-be-addressed\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Teen Mental Health Needs to be Addressed"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt\u2019s not really \u2018normal\u2019 to talk about mental health with people. Being able to help everyone know about mental health and the real struggles that everyone is experiencing is important,\u201d said Drew Voris, a recent graduate of Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Mo., and one of the students who nationally completed the teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) pilot program. \u201cNobody says, \u2018I can\u2019t go to the party because I had a panic attack.\u2019 They\u2019ll make up an excuse. To be able to openly talk about being on antidepressants or dealing with anxiety, to have that awareness and to have that normal talk about mental health is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n

One in five teens lives with a mental health condition. Half of all mental illnesses begin by age 14 and 75 percent begin by the mid-20\u2019s. That means more teens than we think in the United States are struggling with a mental health challenge right now and many don\u2019t know what to do.<\/p>\n

As neighbors, parents and teachers, we want to help teens around us who may be struggling in silence. We want to hold their hand, listen to their concerns and show them the resources that are available. Unfortunately, it\u2019s not that easy. Research shows that most teenagers will turn to their friends and peers for support before they turn to an adult. And because of ongoing stigma around mental health disorders, many won\u2019t even turn to their friends. Among teens with mental health needs, 70 percent do not receive the care they need.<\/p>\n

That is why addressing teen mental health is critically important. We can\u2019t always wait for teens to come to us for help; instead, we need to reach out and give them the information and resources they need to support each other. We need to help them learn about their own mental health and motivate them to participate in treatment.<\/p>\n

teen Mental Health First Aid does just that. tMHFA teaches high school students about common mental health challenges and what they can do to support their own mental health and help their friends who are struggling. Teens are empowered to speak up, take action and get help when it\u2019s needed the most from a trusted adult.<\/p>\n

Right now, eight high schools across the country have trained students in teen Mental Health First Aid<\/a>. We\u2019re looking forward to expanding to more schools across the country in the coming years. Learn more about this new program<\/a>, run by the National Council.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cIt\u2019s not really \u2018normal\u2019 to talk about mental health with people. Being able to help everyone know about mental health and the real struggles that everyone is experiencing is important,\u201d … Read more<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":12368,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[190,194],"topic":[292,181,175],"news-type":[172],"class_list":["post-12364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-schools","tag-youth-and-teen","topic-for-employers","topic-mhfa-training","topic-organizations","news-type-blog"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Teen Mental Health Needs to be Addressed<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.grafik.mentalhealthfirstaid.org\/es\/news\/why-teen-mental-health-needs-to-be-addressed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why Teen Mental Health Needs to be Addressed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cIt\u2019s not really \u2018normal\u2019 to talk about mental health with people. Being able to help everyone know about mental health and the real struggles that everyone is experiencing is important,\u201d ... 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