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Clinical and research studies are increasingly examining prevention programming as an important step toward addressing adolescent depression. Prevention is defined as a process of increasing awareness, resilience and coping skills. Universal preventive intervention helps every youth, rather than attempting to identify whom is 'at risk' at the moment. The goal is to promote early recognition and intervention in order to prevent crises from occurring.
- Implement universal preventive intervention and communicate clear referral procedures.
- Initiate a wellness council with public and independent school leadership to share their curriculum content on building resilience, symptom recognition and referral procedures with parents and leaders from other community programs, including clergy.
- Support teen leadership and open communication with adults.
- Evaluate outcomes.
Childrens Hospital Boston and McLean Hospital collaborated to develop the original universal (for all youth) preventive intervention curriculum; you may download An Adolescent Mental Health & Wellness Curriculum: A Starter Kit For Schools without charge by clicking its image (to the right).
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McLean Hospital |
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The importance of prevention and early treatment is clear because depression is common, it appears in youth, and action is most effective as symptoms first appear:
- depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide (NIH Pub. No. 03-5121)
- half of us who will ever experience depression show symptoms by age 14 (Archives of General Psychiatry, Kessler, R., June, 2005)
- untreated depression can lead to a more severe, more difficult to treat illness (ibid)
- most individuals who complete suicide have depression (NIH Pub.No. 06-4594, also National Strategy for Suicide Prevention)
- 80% of adolescent suicides are completed by boys (Report on Mental Health, Surgeon General)
For school leaders - Preventing Depression: A Toolkit For Schools is a manual that follows a prevention philosophy and provides examples for staff training, student activities (grades 7-12), and referral procedures. You may view the contents section at Print or Order Manuals.
Supplemental workshops detail how adolescent depression differs from adult depression, including its early symptoms. Discussions further develop manual content such as the task list of procedures to refer students at-risk, recommendations for best practices, and possible adaptations to meet individual school needs.
For parents and other key adults - Resource information is offered directly through this website. You are encouraged to download information on keeping healthy kids healthy. For example, Challenging Negative Self -Talk is a tip sheet with six questions to help your child practice realistic thinking. There is also material on building awareness to know common symptoms of depression such as irritability or recurring headache/stomachache, and suggested topics to discuss with the pediatrician. View details at Parent Resources.
Workshops are useful for key adults in adolescent's lives, including parents, clergy, coaches and scout leaders. We can help your community schedule workshops with follow-up discussion meetings for Parents and for the Community Program Leaders supporting teens. Contact us regarding tools, potential content, and suggestions for working with health care providers near your community.
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