On Tuesday night I attended a talk on Adolescent Mental Health by Dr. Stan Kutcher, a Professor of Psychiatry at Dalhousie University specializing in Adolescent Mental Health.
He is on a mission to increase mental health literacy by reducing stigma, increasing help-seeking and creating a common mental health language.
A goal, for ourselves and our kids, is to be mentally strong so that we can handle stress when it comes our way.
Test Yourself…What Are The 18 Things That Mentally Strong People Do?
(From the work of Dr. Stan Kutcher)
Do you think productively?
Do you reflect on your progress?
Do you tolerate discomfort?
Do you expend your mental energy wisely?
Do you evaluate your core beliefs?
Do you have staying power?
Are you prepared to work and succeed on your own merits?
Do you enjoy your time alone?
Are you willing to fail?
Do you move on?
Do you keep control?
Do you embrace change?
Do you stay happy?
Are you kind?
Are willing to take calculated risks?
Do you invest your energy in the present?
Do you accept full responsibility for your past behaviour?
Do you celebrate other people’s successes?
How did you do? How do you think your child is fairing? Are there any areas which you could focus on improving?
What Common Language Should We All Be Using?
Dr. Stan Kutcher showed us this pyramid to help us understand the different levels of mental stress leading up to Mental Disorder/Illness at the very top of the pyramid. He also defined each level, in order that we can be using the same accurate language.
He said that one in every five Canadians will be in the top red triangle for mental disorder/illness. He has ADHD and therefore he is in the top red triangle. Dr. Kutcher showed us a video, in which Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shared that his mother has Bipolar and Depression – she fits in the red triangle. Justin Trudeau and his mother are strong advocates for de-stigmatizing mental illness.
The other three layers we all can be in from time to time.
A mental health problem (yellow layer) is devastating but we can get through it and people close to us plus counsellors can help. For example, we could be grieving the loss of a loved one, we could lose our job, or we could be being bullied.
We experience mental distress (green layer) when we are not prepared for a presentation, when we lose our keys/wallet/phone etc. We realize that what we are doing isn’t working and we need to do something about it.
We also go through periods of no distress (blue layer).
Key point: The more we rescue our children, the more we de-skill them.
When Is the Age of Onset of Most Major Mental Disorders?
(Permission to use slides from Dr. Kutcher at his presentation)
Between the ages of 12-25 is the onset of most major mental disorders as seen in this image above. This is a time of restructuring of the brain and when 70% of mental disorders can be diagnosed.
What About The Stigma?
Unfortunately there is still a lot of stigma associated with mental disorders/illness.
For parents, it is very difficult to accept that your child has a mental disorder/illness because it predicts a more challenging life and none of us want our children’s lives to be any more difficult.
However, just like learning disabilities, the earlier we understand what our child’s brain is experiencing, through accurate assessment, the sooner we can target intervention and the greater the chances of improvement and developing life long skills for managing the mental illness/disorder successfully. If our children’s eyesight was struggling we wouldn’t delay on having their eyes tested and getting them glasses.
As Dr. Kutcher said:
“Mental health and physical health are not separate. Mental health is brain health. You don’t have mental health or mental illness. You can have a mental illness and have excellent mental health.” ~ Dr. Stan Kutcher
I have worked with many children and youth who haven’t been assessed or assessed thoroughly enough and families have gone for many years, not understanding why their child experiences such difficulties. Once the assessment has been completed, families feel relieved to truly understand how their child’s brain works and how to best support their child. The best place to start is with a psycho-educational assessment with a Registered Psychologist. (We have many highly reputable psychologists at the ABLE Clinic).
What Is the Best Definition of Mental Health?
The individual’s capacity to successfully adapt to life circumstances and to develop the ability to do so in a manner appropriate to the individuals’ age and capabilities. It does not mean the absence of negative emotional states. Mental health is not the antithesis of a mental disorder and exists across all states of mental distress, mental health problems and mental disorders. ~ Dr. Stan Kutcher
Throughout the past week, Dr. Stan Kutcher has been training all grade 9 teachers in the North and West Vancouver School Districts in mental health literacy. He has developed a curriculum resource for teachers to teach students about adolescent mental health and mental illness. He believes that teachers have the most access to adolescents and therefore it’s critical that they are trained in mental health literacy. In schools, where this resource has already been utilized, the number of students who have reached out for help, has more than doubled.
The government has an initiative that is being implemented in BC to support Dr. Kutcher’s mission. BC integrated youth services centres for youth ages 12-24 years are being established. There is currently one on Granville Street in Vancouver and there is another one coming to the North Shore of Vancouver. These centres aim to be a one-stop shop of centralized services to support youth in many aspects of their lives, without feeling stigmatized.
The roll-out of the the grade 9 mental health literacy teacher training and the establishment of integrated youth service centres are exciting steps toward more support and less stigma for people with mental illness/disorders.
For more information, Dr. Kutcher has many free resources on this website, including a booklet on How to Teen Your Parent and How to Parent Your Teen.
You may also be interested in these related articles:
Why Are Kids and Teens More Fragile These Days
Have You Heard of the Black Dog of Depression
6 Parenting Tips from Josh Shipp – from Orphan to Oprah
Why Does It Seem So Many Children Have A Diagnosis These Days
Warmly,
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