Mental Health Awareness in Education for Teen Adolescents

Connie Pi, Martha Schriver, Rahul Bhala

Mental Health Association of Greater Chicago

125 South Clark Street Suite 1820 Chicago, IL 60603

(847) 942-1257

pi.connie@gmail.com

Why the focus on teen adolescents? An adolescent teen is of age 11-19 and much of these years are spent in High School. The Mental Health Awareness in Education is a program currently underway at Benito Juarez High School in Chicago and is designed to educate students and teachers about the 14 most common mental health disorders in teen adolescents. This includes, but is certainly not limited to, suicide, depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. By educating the students and teachers, we can reduce stigmas by bringing an awareness and understanding of mental illnesses. Without this understanding, students and or teachers may look down on or mistreat those with a disorder.

For illustration, an individual with depression may always sleep in class and appear not caring to pay attention. This can easily frustrate a teacher and result in yet another visit to the principal's office. Other students may look at this individual unfavorably as lazy or a trouble maker. This creates a stigma and individuals with a disorder do not get the proper attention and treatment they need. With this program, we want to lower such stigmas through education and awareness. The program is not to teach how to diagnose a disorder, but more so, to bring an awareness and open mind in how we treat people. Additionally, students who find that they may identify with a certain disorder may come forth confidentially and seek the proper treatment. This is crucial in helping students to prevent health issues that can occur due to untreated mental illnesses. Furthermore, this is also important for students from a culture that views mental illnesses as taboo and a weakness. Benito Juarez is predominantly Hispanic and its culture does not encourage students to bring such issues to attention and many are either scared to say anything or do not know where to look for help. This program can also reach out to those individuals who may not have the courage and accessibility to proper care and thus, a program like this can play a huge role in culturally diverse schools.

This workshop will walk the audience through a typical class day involving the use of powerpoint presentation (presenting our lesson of the day), games and prizes, small group activities and silent discussions. It will be a very engaging atmosphere and can offer teaching techniques in how to spread awareness of mental health and educate a wider population. Ultimately, we hope that this program can appear in ever high school curriculum so that students and teachers are made aware and students identifying with a disorder can get the proper treatment and counseling they need.

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