As Mental Health Awareness month came to a close, we felt it was important to discuss mental health on a more local level, so we contacted Melissa Stephens, a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC)/Emergency Services Clinician in N.H., to get a different perspective on mental health issues.
Below is the transcript of our interview with Stephens about what schools can be doing to encourage mental health awareness and education, and what students can be doing to help themselves and one another.
EG: As an expert, what should our school be doing for mental health? What steps we should have in place?
MS: I’ve been visited with a lot of schools and unfortunately I think statewide and countrywide we don’t have enough mental health resources for teenagers and for adults. I think it’s a really big issue that our country has.
I went to a suicide prevention conference earlier this year and there was a group of students there who actually created a student peer support group and it sounds like a really awesome idea and really successful. They created this group of students that felt comfortable talking to their peers about these issues. They started to notice a lot of students were coming to them if they needed help.
I think that would be really awesome for your school and your peers. Some teenagers and kids are way more likely to open up and talk to someone their own age as opposed to adults. I think students can really open up that avenue of communication at your school.
LS: Is there anything more proactive schools be doing?
MS: I think the schools should work for finding a person who is comfortable talking about those issues. I know it’s sometimes hard for counselors to deal with suicide and things like that. The school can have someone that’s in there a couple days a week who is comfortable talking about mental health resources and struggles, that would be well worth it.
I think there’s a lot of schools which really should be expanding that conversation to every single grade. I don’t know where schools would be able to fit it in. I know some schools have mental health awareness week. I have resources [on that] for people, and I think that’s something a school could do. That should probably be run by students as well, who are passionate about it. I know there are some curricula online for schools to help figure out how they want to approach this topic. I think a school could also look into that as well.
EG: If a student feels suicidal or like they are going to hurt themselves and they go to the emergency room or seek help what are the next steps for them and what does that look like?
MS: Typically they would be cleared by a medical doctor to confirm that there are no underlying reasons for their suicidal thoughts or mental health struggles, but that’s usually over pretty quickly, with a blood or urine sample and a couple questions about health issues.
Once they’re cleared they will be seen by an emergency services counselor, which is what I do, and we sit down with them and their parents and talk about recent stressors, bullying, something that can make them feel depressed. We’ll ask about family life. We’ll ask about their history with mental health struggles, their history with treatments. We’ll ask a lot of questions. Those questions can be pretty intense, which is sometimes a really tough topic to talk about.
We will look at protective versus risk factors to try and weigh the pros and cons if the student requires psychiatric hospitalizations or outpatient treatment at home and see a psychiatrist once a week or every other week depending on their needs.
LS: What can students who don’t struggle with mental health do to help others who do?
MS: I think educating yourself on the signs of depression and suicidal thoughts and about the warning signs. If your friend starts to isolate or is not spending time with you as much, if they’re really irritable or anxious or getting angry very easily, if they are abusing drugs and that’s not like them, that’s usually a big warning sign that something is wrong.
If they become reckless, if they start making decisions that are really risky or unsafe these are all warning signs for depression or suicidal thoughts. If someone is struggling with the mental health issue, it doesn’t tell you that they are 100% suicidal or depressed, but that is something you can look for in your friends to give you an idea if they’re struggling.
Being open minded in approaching these people without judgement is really important. A lot of teenagers tell me when they talk to me, they don’t want to tell anyone because they don’t want to seem weak. They don’t want their parents to get mad. They don’t want to be locked up and called crazy.
I think that being really open-minded and non-judgmental and understanding that they’re struggling because something is going on in their lives. Help them open up a little bit, just tell your friends that you’re there for them, and you’re not there to get them in trouble for having a hard time.
If you’re really concerned about your friend to the point where they think that they’re going to hurt themselves, it might kind of feel bad to do, but talking to an adult they trust and getting support is helpful. Only so much can fall on you guys, and it can become risky, because they might do something they will regret or hurt themselves.
LS:Is there anything a teacher or a member of administration can do if they see a student is struggling?
MS: Pulling a student aside and having a conversation with them is a good idea. There’s the Greater Manchester mobile crisis team which is working with teachers and students along with adults and they have the capacity to respond to the psychiatric cases in a community and provide mental health care and figure out with that individual needs.
They are specifically a crisis team for someone who is suicidal, homicidal, or just if you’re really worried about someone’s safety. If you notice a change in their mental status if they’re feeling really down and depressed that’s a great number to call and get the ball rolling to get them connected to health services before it’s too late. [See below for this resource and others.]
EG: What can we do to help alleviate the stigma of mental health?
MS: I honestly don’t have an answer to that. It’s a society issue. I think that there’s not enough information and education out there for people to help fight the stigma. People call me every day afraid to make the phone call. It kind of comes down to how people view mental illness. A lot of people see it as a weakness, but I think in some ways it’s bigger than just us trying to advocate for people. It’s a huge issue in our society, the stigma against mental illness, it’s really hard to fight without having important discussions in the community.
It is just telling your friends that they’re important and being really careful about making those jokes because you might be making that joke to someone who’s actually suicidal and that might make them not want to open up about it. So just being an open-minded person, letting people know you’re there for them to talk to can go a long way.
It is important to continue these conversations on mental health issues.
We know that it is not talked about enough and it should be.
Hopefully reading this article and hearing that there are support systems in place can help any student who feels like there is no one there for them.
This article is also a call to action for us all:
To the administration: We encourage you to put more mental health topics into the curriculum in addition to those discussed in freshman health classes.
To students: Stop making jokes about suicide. Educate yourself on the signs of suicide and depression. Have conversations with friends if they are struggling and go to a trusted adult.
We all need to do more to alleviate the stigma surrounding mental health.
Local Resources for anyone struggling with mental health:
Greater Manchester Crisis Team: 8009-688-354
https://www.mhcgm.org/services/crisis-intervention/cypress-center/
401 Cypress St, Manchester, NH 03103
Center for Life Management: (603) 434-1577 Option 1
10 Tsienneto Road, Derry, NH 03038
Riverbend Community Mental Health: 1-844-743-5748
www.riverbendcmhc.org/program-overview
10 West St, Concord, NH 03301
National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI New Hampshire): 1-800-242-6264
85 N State St, Concord, NH 03301
Adrienne Lafond
Jun 6, 2017 at 5:12 pm
Thank you guys so so so so much for finally getting an article like this out there. As someone who has educated herself in the signs, puts herself out there as someone that people can talk to, has/still is struggling with mental health, and has more recently been voicing that we need to do more in our community, I hope that this article reaches out. We, as a society, don’t want to hear about these sort of things, but they sometimes need to be heard. Some parents feel the need to shield their children from mental illness. I have never experienced this because my mum never shielded me from things, she taught me not to judge, to try and understand, and if I could help, I should. Also, I think that being more open to things and raising awareness helps those struggling with it because they feel heard and now they feel they can be more open with it. I really am glad you wrote this, and I hope that it can help strengthen Lancer Nation.