June 10, 2019, NPR, WVTF Radio, Charlottesville VA: Charlottesville Tests Teen Mental Health Program https://www.wvtf.org/post/charlottesville-tests-teen-mental-health-program#stream/0
It’s not unusual for teenagers to struggle with depression, anxiety and substance abuse – problems students are reluctant to discuss with their parents or teachers. The situation resonates with pop star Lady Gaga, who is funding a new approach to teen mental health – a program being tested at eight schools nationwide – two of them here in Virginia. ...
Sadly, she says, there was no help for mental illness when she was in school, but she wants to change that by sharing a program called Teen Mental Health First Aid. It trains students to watch for warning signs in their friends. ...
“Unfortunately we know nationwide suicide is the second leading cause of death after accidents, so we always have to be on the lookout, and we always have to take any possibility of suicidal thoughts very seriously,” she says.
One in five teens will have a mental health problem in any given year. Few feel comfortable discussing it with their parents or teachers. Students David Green and Lamont Bullard say faculty members don’t know what’s happening in their lives outside the classroom. ...
“People could be having domestic abuse issues or relationship problems outside of school. It’s not just here,” Green explains. ...
With support from Region 10, the local mental health agency, Hart and her colleagues spent the last school year teaching 250 students – the entire sophomore class – how to help friends who may be struggling. ...
The program, which was developed in Australia, provides materials for teachers and students. Hart describes "art work created by teenagers to express what they were feeling when they were going through a mental health problem, some really fantastic videos, but at its core it’s really just three 75-minute conversations about mental health and an action plan of what to do if you’re concerned about a friend.”...
