The missing piece
My heart is heavy as I see people around me suffering, usually silently, from mental health challenges, from mental distress, from untreated or undiagnosed mental illnesses. I am a practitioner, but only one person, and as much as my heart breaks for those that are not getting the help and support they need, I know that I need to take another path, a larger path, to impact long lasting change.
After a former patient of mine died by suicide, and I did over a year of research, I began to realize part of the puzzle that was missing in our country. A foundational education in Mental Health Literacy, beginning in our schools and continuing through adulthood. We spend so much time and energy teaching all types of literacy, but very little to none on proactively teaching Mental Health Literacy.
Mental illnesses and mental health challenges are a significant risk facing our youth and young adults, not unlike the risk of car accidents. In fact, car accidents and suicide are the number one and two causes of death among this age group. However, when you compare the amount of safety training we require of our teens before they can get a driver’s license, to the amount of mental health training students receive as they navigate their young and cognitively underdeveloped lives, we see a stark difference which we can learn from.
Currently a large effort to address the mental health crisis has rightfully focused on expanding access to mental health providers and services; however, not enough effort has gone toward the promotion of mental health literacy (MHL) for students, teachers and parents. Over the past 15 years, the foundational and proactive approach of MHL has gained ground, alongside a strong body of evidence to support it.
Mental health literacy is defined as the knowledge and competencies covering four separate but interrelated topics: understanding how to obtain and maintain good mental health; understanding mental disorders and their treatments; decreasing stigma; and enhancing help seeking efficacy (knowing when and where to seek help, and what to expect in that process).
By incorporating MHL, age appropriately, into middle and high school curricula, schools and whole communities are addressing the critical need for this foundational education, resulting in mental health promotion, prevention, early identification, intervention and ongoing care. And very importantly, once implemented within schools by trained teachers, MHL programming becomes a cost effective and sustainable solution.
My heart breaks for the families and communities of each and every life life that has been lost to suicide. One is too many, regardless of what age this person was. And I understand the pain and worry of those directly or indirectly impacted by anxiety, depression and the many other mental health challenges on the rise.
However, knowledge is power, and broad based foundational knowledge of mental health can empower communities to gradually reverse the scary trends we are now all witnessing. We need to start now by building a strong foundation through the school-wide implementation of mental health literacy training.
I founded Mental Health Collaborative with a goal to teach mental health literacy to as many schools, communities and organizations that I can. My journey has just begun. I welcome any support and any comments. We are a very young non-profit organization, but we have high and impactful aspirations. Join us!
Abbie Rosenberg PMHNP-BC, RN
Founder/Executive Director: Mental Health Collaborative
www.mentalhealthcollaborative.org
149 Wood Street Hopkinton, MA 01748 (508) 625–1660
