Youth Mental Health and Peer Support

With the widespread of misinformation and stigma around mental health, how well does our youth understand their own mental health and are they comfortable with discussing their mental health if they were in a crisis? When speaking with several high school students and a few middle school students, I found that many youths began to have a better understanding of what mental illness is and even felt comfortable to discuss it with their peers.

One student, age 16 stated “I value my mental health, and I am very aware of how it can affect my physical health as well as its overall importance especially among the youth”. He went on to say, “I have my people I can rely on if I wanted to address anything with my mental health and I feel like youth would be more comfortable talking to people if there was more of a relationship built up”.

Another student who identified as a 15-year-old female stated “I feel as though my mental health is stable and she is most comfortable going to his best friends if she had an issue. She also stated, “if there was more of an outlet where youth wouldn’t have to feel exploited or judged then we would feel more comfortable to talk about mental health”.

A 17-year-old high school senior stated “I think mental health is important and should be a priority in our society and at school, I also feel like everyone should have a person or safe space that they can go to when they are feeling stressed or overwhelmed”. What I found interesting when discussing mental health with these young people was that there was not a lack of knowledge regarding mental health but there was a lack of community. When asking if they believed stigma would be reduced if they had a peer support group centered around mental health a 12 year old middle school student replied “I think that is what we need, if we had a place to go where we could talk about what we are gong through eve if it’s just friendship problems or stuff at home that may be affecting us, I think more kids would feel comfortable talking about our mental health”.

According to Mental Health America, “When it comes to mental health, peer support gives youth the chance to feel understood by someone who also lives with a mental health condition or substance use disorder. Peer support improves the well-being of the person providing support as well, since they are able to use their challenges to help others”.

If you are a teen from the ages of 13-17 and want to learn more about mental health and how to reduce the stigma, The Cohen Clinic at Centerstone has a trauma informed youth group that meets the second and fourth Tuesday of the month beginning February 11^th. The group is called Exploring Y.O.U., and it is s a trauma informed mental health group for teens ages 13-17 to learn about needs in the community, give back, and most importantly exploring mental health, life experiences, and their needs. You can sign up and learn more here.