Illuminating the Dark

By Carolyn Sloan

Spectator



“Mental illness is a largely invisible illness and it’s because of the stigma that people think they have to suffer silently,� she says. “With adolescent depression and suicide, it’s about finding a way to reach more people at a preventative level and that’s going to take money and that’s going to take awareness of the problem. I think we as a country can’t afford to let our most promising citizens go down to an illness that can be treated.�

Dawn Scott, Annapolis County community facilitator for the Canadian Mental Health Association, went to Fredericton, NB a couple weeks ago to bring herself up to date with the most current research on a prevalent adolescent illness that often goes undetected and untreated.

As a community facilitator, Scott’s job is not to council mental health consumers, but rather, to provide them, along with the community as a whole, with information and resources with which to educate themselves about mental illness and mental wellbeing.

The research presented at the Anxiety and Depression in Children Conference addressed adolescent depression specifically, as symptoms differ with adults. According to keynote speaker Dr. Amy Cheung, it is only recently that medication and treatments for depression have been geared toward adolescents suffering with this illness. As such, Cheung has been working as part of a team of researchers, exploring this relatively new area of study and creating guidelines for primary care professionals, who often do not have the necessary information or know-how to identify, assess, manage and treat depression.



Depression at school

Yet, beyond the primary care setting, adolescent depression is an issue of key importance to other service providers, such as guidance counselors, social workers, and educators. Mary Radford, formerly the director of guidance at Fredericton High School, has seen students suffering from depression at school, including those that experience school phobia, struggle with homework, or can’t come to school at all because of their illness. In such cases, she says, students sometimes have to take a leave of absence for a long time and are expected, when they come back, to handle the normal course load.

According to Radford, the number of students taking anti-depressants seems to be increasing as are the number of cases of self-harming and self-mutilation, and quite often the students don’t seem to want to access help, leaving parents and educators trying to reach out to children with a feeling of helplessness.

“It’s the feeling we can’t do the things we know we should do,� she says.

While there's little teachers and counselors can do if a student refuses to get help, there are a few things schools can do to make the learning environment more comfortable. Radford says that the Fredericton High School makes quiet spaces available in the school, reduces course loads for some students, holds alternate programs in a small class environment where they can get a high school diploma, and uses more distance and online education programs for those students that have trouble in a classroom setting.

In addition, in the last six or seven years, the school has introduced a Let’s Live program for all Grade 10 students which focuses on personal development.

In the end, Radford says that one of the biggest challenges with adolescent depression at school is accessing services and suggests that there be mental health professionals in the schools, as well as more smaller settings for those students who are overwhelmed in a large class.



Mental Health professionals

At the conference, psychologist Helene Hamel also shared her experience working with depression in youth. From her point of view, in the case of adolescents who suffer from depression, usually their basic needs haven’t been met. Hamel says that these kids have difficulties in trying to cope, which brings on the depression.

It is also her sense that depression starts at a much earlier age than what we see, as some students recall symptoms as early as elementary school. While it is likely that many of these youth have some genetic predisposition to depression, Hamel points out that social or community factors can reinforce this tendency as well. As such, she lists several protective factors that foster coping skills in adolescents, such as a strong basic relationship between parents and their children based on unconditional love as opposed to superficial or material validation, good relationships with their peers, and involvement in community activities.

“We have to keep in mind that children are vulnerable,� says Hamel. “They are in a world of adults and are following a schedule imposed by adults… They need support.�

Often there are family factors that make it difficult for parents to respond to the needs of their children, such as employment issues and death of loved ones.

“If that situation lasts for a long time, children may have a hard time coping,� says Hamel. “How kids will perceive those stressors and how they perceive their part affects their development.�

Furthermore, while it would be ideal to work with parents in making them stronger so that they can fulfill their child’s needs, it is not always feasible, given that some parents are unavailable emotionally or physically, in which case the child is left to cope on their own.

Community factors, though they do not cause depression, also play a role in making it harder for kids to cope, such as bullying, peer pressure or disconnection from their peers, who become increasingly more central throughout the teenage years.

‘I think as human beings, we have to admit we’re kind of vulnerable,� says Hamel. “It doesn’t take much to start doubting ourselves. Bullying is really powerful equipment to help start depression.

“What teenagers have to face these days…I don’t think they have it easy in schools. Now, it seems that friends are not faithful at all… If we can’t have a sense of belonging to that group, it makes it much harder to face anything… They’re exposed to things they’re not well equipped to make a decision on.�

The solution? Hamel says that parents need to know how important they are, that playing with their kids, getting involved in their development from an early age is crucial. Parents also need to keep an open dialogue with their children, even at the pre-school age. She also dreams of having mental health professionals in the schools, where the kids spend most of their time. If that presence were a part of their lives on a regular basis, Hamel explains, then it would be easier for kids to come and get help.