Youth is a time of turbulence and vulnerability, giving fodder to parents’ old joke that their teenagers aren’t crazy – they’re teenagers.
But while a flood of hormones and the jagged process that rapid psychological, social and intellectual development can cause otherwise sober adolescents to make decisions their parents don’t understand – whether dating the wrong person, skipping school or fighting perfectly reasonable household rules – the under-discussed fact is that youths also struggle with mental-health issues.
In May, a 13-year-old Durango boy who attended Miller Middle School died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Nationally, the biggest three killers of teenagers are accidents, homicide and suicide.
Distinguishing between run-of-the-mill teenage angst and something more serious is difficult.
“I think it’s often confusing for those of us who strive to support youth. What are the normal ups and downs of adolescent development, and what could be the signs of a genuine mental-health issue?” said Omni Institute’s Anna Royer, who has worked for more than 25 years as a social worker.
Royer will teach a free Youth Mental Health First Aid Course on Friday and Saturday at Bowman Hall at the Unitarian Fellowship. The eight-hour course teaches lay people a five-step “action plan” they can rely on when confronted by a young person who is in crisis or exhibiting signs of a mental illness.
The premise of the course – that regular people who are not health-care professionals can, with a little training, save lives by putting young people in extreme circumstances in contact with appropriate professional or self-help care – marks a radical reimagining of public health.
Royer said the course treats lay people like first-aid providers.
“Just as we think of CPR and first aid as skills that anyone in the community could have, the idea behind this mental-health course is very similar.”
She said she had seen a variety of people sign up for the course, including parents and educators.
The course involves equipping regular people with basic strategies, including teaching them “ALGEE,” a five-part action plan:
Action A: Assess for risk of suicide or harm.
Action L: Listen nonjudgmentally.
Action G: Give reassurance and information.
Action E: Encourage appropriate professional help.
Action E: Encourage self-help and other support strategies.
But Royer, who has taught the course twice before, said she has noticed that while participants often find the practical steps it imparts extremely useful, overall, people who have enrolled in it tended to find its demystification of mental illness most moving.
“One of the most powerful aspects of the course that I’ve witnessed is that it really gives participants the opportunity to look at their own biases and the stigma that so many of us carry around about mental health, allowing everyone to really be more supportive of those of us who have mental-health challenges in our community,” she said.
cmcallister@durangoherald.com
If you go
The Youth Mental Health First Aid Course will be held from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Unitarian Fellowship, 495 San Juan Drive. For questions or more information, contact Anna Royer at aroyer@omni.org or call (800) 279-2070, ext. 165.
To learn more about the class, visit: www.omni.org or www.rpscolorado.org
Additional resources
www.mhfaco.org
www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org
Hotlines
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: (800) 273-TALK (8255)
Colorado Crisis and Support Line: (844) 493-TALK (8255)
Axis Health System also provides a local emergency hotline and local crisis teams: Durango: 247-5245; Cortez: 335-2255; Pagosa Springs: 264-2104; after hours: 247-5245.
