Mental Health Proposal

In the United States, suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 10 to 14-year-olds (CDC, 2015) and for 15 to 19-year-olds (Friedman, 2008). In 2013, 17.0% of students grades 9 to 12 in the United States seriously thought about committing suicide; 13.6% made a suicide plan; 8.0% attempted suicide; and 2.7% attempted suicide in which required medical attention (CDC, 2015). These alarming statistics show that there is something wrong with the way suicide is handled in today’s society. In order to alleviate the devastating consequences of teenage suicide, it is important to get at the root of what causes it all: mental illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (2013), mental illness is the imbalance of thinking, state of mind, and mood. Approximately 90% of all suicides are committed by people with mental illnesses (NAMI, n.d.). This shows that there is a correlation between mental illness and suicide. If mental illnesses are not treated, deadly consequences could occur. It would make sense that if there is a correlation between mental illness and suicide across all ages, the same should be thought for adolescents. Approximately 21% of all teenagers have a treatable mental illness (Friedman, 2008), although 60% do not receive the help that they need (Horowitz, Ballard, & Pao, 2009). If mental illnesses are not found and treated in teenagers, some of them may pay the ultimate price.

Depression is “a psychoneurotic or psychotic disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal tendancies”. (Merriam-Webster, unknown). It is important to understand the effects of depression amongst young people, as it is a large problem in Australia. Depression effects on in sixteen Australians aged 16-24 (BeyondBlue, unknown), and the largest killer of the Australian youth is suicide (BeyondBlue, unknown). Depression can be broken down into smaller sections, and they are; the way it effects young people, the prevalence of depression, the consequences it brings upon

Since the mid to late 1990’s, youth suicide has become a common cause of death for young Australians (Carter 2010 para. 1). The government then acted and managed to reduce the suicide rate, which was a success (Carter 2010 para. 2). After decades, the problem was re-encountered and it became one of the leading causes of death for people under 25 years old in Australia surpassing car

As the acceptance and incidence of mental health has increased over the years, there is a dire need for constant change when it comes to mental health services. After reviewing both the State of Mental Health in America: 2017 and the Mental Health Reform Act 2016, I feel as though the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) alongside the state and federal governmental programs are addressing the issue head on and with purpose. Although there are lapses within the legislation, especially regarding the lack of grants offered for treatment of the homeless, the Mental Health Reform Act 2016 effectively addresses mental health and substance abuse appropriately while increasing managing to make mental health services more

When it comes to this program I did not find any information that stated it was developed based on empirical evidence. “Very little empirical data exist to help administrators select a particular staffing model for providing mental health services to inmates” (Hills, Siegfried, and Ickowitz, 2004, p. 37). This could have definitely hurt the program at Montford Psychiatric Hospital, but the staff seemed extremely professional, organized, skilled, and knowledgeable of what they were doing when assessing inmates mental health issues. Additionally, this program is also not based on theory because when a theory is created to change complicated issues, such as mental illness program or other health care programs it can be a daunting task. It is particularly troublesome when there is a lack of empirical evidence to support concepts that can lead towards success.

In 2011, the leading cause of death for young people aged 15-24 was suicide. In that year, it was reported that 231 males and 91 females died by suicide. This data shows that young males suffer more suicidal thoughts and behaviours compared to young females. (ABS 2013) According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the most common method of suicide by youths is by hanging and is committed by 47% and 56.7% of all female and male suicides. (ABS 2014) In 1995, Australia was one of the first countries to create a national suicide prevention program which focused on youths with higher risks of suicide. (Department of health 2014)

Both Howard and Jonathan were victims of maltreatment at the hands of their mother. There is very little information provided about both families so my primary role would be to assess Howard and Jonathan and their family members interpersonal and concrete needs and link them to appropriate informal and formal supports in the community. According to WHO (2006), “all forms of child maltreatment can have significant and lifelong adverse effects on the child’s mental health and development.” Linkages to community mental health services, or in home therapeutic support services for both boys and family members would be beneficial. “Mental health interventions that show the greatest

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 10-24 year olds in the United States (Kim, Dickstein). Every year there are thousands of teens dying, not from cancer, getting shot, or car accident, but by their own hands. Teens make the choice of committing suicide. Researchers reported that the number of teen suicides are rapidly growing each year. Whether people realize it or not, this is a huge problem and people need to acknowledge this situation. This problem can be prevented, just like any other problem in our world. Last year, there was this guy who committed suicide days before his graduation, but no one knew the justification behind his actions nor seen the signs. Locals would say many reasons why he did it, but only he knew why he did it. There are many causes to someone wanting to commit suicide. According to his mother, he was somewhat depressed, but continue to say that there was nothing wrong with him. Depression is the leading cause of someone wanting to committing suicide. Based on my research, I have come to the conclusion that depression is the main cause of suicide and experts agree with

Depression affects over 121,000,000 people worldwide and the global mortality rate for depression is over 830,000 per year. Completed suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in women and the 5th leading cause of death in men. According to a global survey on depression, carried out by the World Health Organsation, over 15% of people in countries with high

Many young Australians suffer from mental illness and are exposed to serious risk of harm. It is found that more than one in four teenagers suffer a mental illness and most are not identified or treated (Mcdougall, 2013). Mental illness is the largest risk factor that causes suicidal behaviour and serious psychological distress in young people (Australian Government, 2013). According to Mcdougall (2013), the life expectancy for people with mental illness is 15 to 20 year lower than other Australians. Child and adolescent psychologist Carr-Gregg, states that despite of high prevalence of suicide, 80 per cent of adolescents with mental illness do not acknowledge the illness and remain untreated (as cited in Mcdougall, 2013). In the context

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the world as well as one of the leading causes of suicide. This report contains information on its prevalence in Australia and risk factors. It also looks at the current treatments and various strategies being undertaken to combat the rise of depression cases in Australia. 2. DEFINITION OF DEPRESSION Depression is a mental health disorder that is characterized by a persistent sad mood that may cause loss of enthusiasm for daily activities, which prompts a huge hindrance in everyday life.

Good morning ladies and gentlemen, welcome to this Year’s Youth Forum, My name is Kasey Powell and I’ve been invited here today to speak about depression. I believe this particular social issue is important and has to be broken down so more people understand what depression really is because no one wants to be suffering from depression. Suicide and self-harm are two of the top difficulties when suffering from depression and they need to be addressed. One of the reasons I believe this is due to the fact that one in sixteen young Australians are currently experiencing depression.

Youth can be one of the most difficult times in human development due to the rapid emotional, intellectual, and also physical changes one goes through as one progresses from childhood to adolescence and then into adulthood. This time is of great importance as it is crucial to establish positive health and social behaviours (AIHW, 2011). A large portion of the current generation of Australian children and adolescents face a large array of both biophysical and/or psychosocial health issues which not only affects their quality of life but also has an impact on ‘the health of the population in the future, and the health of society in a much broader sense’ (Eckersley 2008). After thorough research into the health impediments the youth of

Today’s teenagers are faced with the ever changing world around them and the biological changes of their bodies. Many teens are also faced with depression. Approximately half of teenagers with untreated depression may attempt suicide, which remains the third leading cause of death in this age group. (Bostic). This depression affects their school, family lives, and robs them of their self image. Depression affects many teens and often goes by unnoticed and untreated.

I attended the Mental Health Symposium on Saturday, September 30, 2017 at the St. Lukes “Community” United Methodist Church and attended session A in regards to the children and adolescent track titled Is Your Child Quietly Suffering? The presenters were Dr. Michael Selders and Dr. Natalie Portman. I chose to follow this track because as a mother I am always looking for ways to be more in tune to my children’s physical, emotional, and intellectual needs. Dr. Selders started the session by drawing a vin diagram and going through the three individual traits in regards to mental health. We started with the Bio circle which deals with our genetics and when something is abnormal we treat the abnormalities with medication. Second he talked about the Psyche, when abnormalities occur in this realm the social norm is to treat it with therapy. The third area is the social aspect of the vin diagram and deals with our interactions in the communities such as school, church and community centers to name a few. What is important to note is that in the vin diagram the most important part is where all three overlap the other. That small area is where the suffering can occur, and was there all along but may have stayed dormant until a shift in an individual’s environment. Many times a person is not getting enough serotonin and the biological aspect comes into play and can be treated with medications. They all work in tandem to a person’s well-being. We also dialed into what abnormal and