Mental health challenges affect 1 in 5 youth each year, yet most never get the support they need. Too often, young people stay quiet, try to handle things alone or … Read more
Schools
Adults often joke about the moodiness and unpredictable nature of teenagers. As teens go through puberty, spend more time with friends and less with family and discover their own identities, … Read more
“Doomscroll.” “Brainrot.” These terms, and more like them, refer to the amount of time we spend absorbing negativity from our phone’s news and social media feeds. And they’ve quickly become … Read more
As young adults carve out their place in the world, their new interests and pursuits often push them away from the scaffolding of the familiar – family and high school … Read more
College can be an incredibly exciting time for young adults – and it comes with potential stressors like financial burdens, academic pressure, homesickness and pandemic-related hardships like social isolation, any … Read more
In my sophomore year of high school, I took the teen Mental Health First Aid (tMHFA) course as part of my gym class, and my number one takeaway is that … Read more
Beginning or returning to college can be an exciting time for students. Each year is a new chapter filled with learning, discovery and opportunities. But, how students respond to the … Read more
College campuses are a melting pot of cultures and experiences. Students can hail from the same state as their school, or from across the world. Some are first-generation students and … Read more
Mental health in college students is a big issue on campuses these days. Across the United States, over 45% of college students are struggling with their mental health, contributing to … Read more
Getting good grades. College and job applications. Extra-curricular activities. The list goes on. High school students face pressure every day to do everything and do it well. Because there is … Read more
When Brian Marquez was in high school, he never imagined that his future path would lead him back to those very same classrooms. But that’s exactly what happened. His full … Read more
I first heard about teen Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) late summer of 2018. The National Council was piloting the program across the country. As a manager at North Texas … Read more
Being part of this has been awesome. As a trainer, I get to help people really see the importance of Youth Mental Health First Aid. I am so passionate about … Read more
Our primary goal as educators is to help our kids learn. However, sometimes there may be something going on in their life that interferes with their ability to learn. Youth … Read more
My district has over 8,000 employees, so you can imagine it was a lot of work to meet the goal of training 80% of them in Youth Mental Health First … Read more
The first day of school is a welcome reprieve for many parents. Juggling childcare, work and summer activities can be flat-out exhausting! But, while parents may look forward to school-year … Read more
Our nation has a youth mental health crisis. One in six youth and adolescents will experience a mental health condition in any given time, nearly half of teens (44%) report … Read more
I always thought I knew the best way to have a conversation with people. I have three kids, so I thought I knew how to communicate well. But in 2017, … Read more
How teenagers manage and use social media is a complicated topic. Sure, social media can be a valuable tool and resource. Many times, it’s where teenagers express themselves, develop their … Read more
Having a serious conversation about mental health with a young person can be challenging, to say the least. How do you start the conversation? What should you bring up? How … Read more
*If your child does or says anything that indicates they have a desire to hurt themselves or others, take them seriously. If you feel your child is in danger, call … Read more
Tobacco use has often been portrayed as harmless, something the “cool” kids do, especially in popular TV shows aimed at teens, like “Skins” and “Euphoria.” But in reality, commercial* tobacco … Read more
Everyone faces stressors in life, especially in high school. Things like forgetting to do a school assignment, being late for work, having a messy room or an argument with a … Read more
As conversations around mental health become more common, it is increasingly important that we consider the mental health of everyone – especially teens. Half of mental health challenges begin by … Read more
Bullying is not an unfamiliar concept, especially for nearly 20 percent of students aged 12-18. According to the Mental Health First Aid curriculum, one in five American high school students … Read more
The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a devastating toll – especially on our youth. Emerging data suggests that depression and suicide concerns have increased among adolescents and young adults ages 12 … Read more
In my sophomore year at Bellows Free Academy High School (St. Albans, Vermont), I attended a small conference at nearby St. Michael’s College that focused on the mental wellbeing of … Read more
Your children may be excited to return to school after a long summer – or even a year of online classes. However, the new school year can come with new … Read more
It can be hard (or nearly impossible) for some of us to imagine not having our smartphone in our hands or within reach at all times. We rely on our … Read more
There is no doubt that the last year and half has been difficult, and the COVID-19 pandemic changed what many of us consider to be “normal.” That’s especially true for … Read more
Mental health is a very important topic that needs to be talked about more often. Mental health challenges are more prevalent in our society now than ever before. In fact, research shows that almost one in five U.S. adults live with … Read more
Mental health has always been a focus in my life, starting with my own struggles as an adolescent. As such, I was honored when my school district asked me, as … Read more
In December 2020, I took a Youth Mental Health First Aid class. This training teaches parents, teachers and other adults how to support young people with mental health challenges, including how to use … Read more
How do you help someone who is struggling? How do you help them without making assumptions about what they are going through, and without making it worse? These are all questions that I learned the answers to during the teen Mental Health First Aid … Read more
Being a teen comes with exciting milestones that double as challenges. For all the highs that come with getting a driver’s license or acing that difficult test, there are lows that come with growing up in a rapidly changing world being shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic, social media and distance learning.
COVID-19 is impacting people of all ages across the country, including children and youth. Kids are not attending classes, participating in extracurricular activities, or seeing their friends in the same … Read more
Starting a new school year is an exciting time but can also be a stressful one. Preparing for a new grade level, joining a new classroom and making new friends … Read more
We often talk about mental health challenges as if they’re only faced by adults. However, youth and young adults also face mental health challenges, and their experiences will be different … Read more
Our community is experiencing stressors like we haven’t seen in our lifetime. — and we can become stronger as a result. As we collectively grapple to get the pandemic under … Read more
“Really, another mental health program?” “We all know none of these make any difference anyways.” These were the common grumbles of my Jefferson High School (JHS) classmates and me as … Read more
COVID-19 has impacted millions of families across the country. Many of us are now working from home, with our children home and away from school. Your kids may be worried, … Read more
COVID-19 is impacting everyone in different ways. Children and youth may not be going to school or daycare, can’t see their friends on a regular basis, and might not be … Read more
When our world changes quickly and suddenly because of things like COVID-19, it is common to experience changes in our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Feelings of anxiety, fear or worry … Read more
For up to 30 million people in the United States, thoughts and emotions related to body image are distorted and can interfere with a person’s daily life as an eating … Read more
“Young adolescence is a time of both peer influences and appearance being very important, so it’s not hard to see how people this age could become very focused on how … Read more
“When researchers followed a group of 496 adolescent girls for 8 years, until they were 20, they found a total of 13.2% of the girls had suffered from a DSM-5 … Read more
Often, people suffer in silence rather than admit they are struggling and need help. And too often, people turn their backs on those with mental health issues either because they … Read more
Eventually we have to ask ourselves, “Why are we afraid of mental health?” As my high school experience came to an end, I found myself in the middle of a … Read more
I wanted to help them. I wanted to say something. But, what could I do? What could I say? When I lost one of my classmates to suicide, I had … Read more
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, call 9-1-1, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text “MHFA” to 741-741 for 24/7 confidential counseling from … Read more
