There have been a spate of articles about teen mental health published recently. ‘Why American Teens Are So Sad’ in The Atlantic, published April 11, 2022. ‘It’s Life. or Death: The Mental Health Crisis Among Teens’ in The New York Times, published April 23, 2022. Both of these were preceded by the Surgeon General’s 53 page report, released on Dec 7, 2021.
There is a youth mental health crisis in America. The good news is: there is a way to help.
Prizmah is offering a Virtual Mental Health Summit on May 15-May 17 (sign up link here).
Marc Fein, a noted mental health advocate and speaker, and I, facilitator of Ida Crown’s mental health awareness club, are offering an important three-part session at this event. It is intended for Heads of School, guidance counselors, social workers, therapists and anyone who works with teens. It is listed under ‘Deep Dives’ and is titled ‘The Peer to Peer Difference: Student Led Mental Health Clubs.’
Below are the session descriptions:
Session 1 - Why Do We Need a Student Run Mental Health Awareness Club? While schools have done a better job at hiring staff and running events to raise awareness of Mental Health, the research indicates that the number one source of information and support for adolescents are their peers. In our session we will explore the relevant research, share lived experience and a perspective from the field, and examine how this model can be integrated into your schools.
Session 2 - Teens share how to effectively and responsibly incorporate student leadership. Teen leaders share their motivations for starting Mental Health Clubs in their schools, the impact on them and their peers, and practical strategies for mobilizing teen leadership at your institutions. Hear directly from teen leaders at Frisch, Bi-Cultural Hebrew Academy and Ida Crown. Together, the teens will present two different models for school clubs, a selection of events and lessons learned, and answer your questions about the peer to peer model from a student perspective.
Session 3 - How to Build Your Mental Health Club. Learn about the local and national organizations that provide curriculum, financial resources, and community to launch your Mental Health Club. Discover how to leverage your internal school resources and student and parent bodies to create a culture change at your school. Finally, review our step-by-step guide for building and launching your club.
~
Marc and I have written a step-by-step playbook that explains exactly how to build and launch your mental health club. Additionally, we have created a list of Jewish mental health organizations with whom you can partner and a speakers bureau. All these resources will be published on the Prizmah website.
Please send information about these sessions to your child’s high school counselor, social worker, head of school or other contact.
Building a student-led mental health club at your school creates a culture and climate that empowers teens, destigmatizes mental illness, provides students with access to accurate information, and helps students who are living with mental health challenges to know they are not alone. It is a very powerful intervention, and Marc and I are taking all the guesswork out of it.
So please. Join us. And help protect the mental health of our Jewish teens.
This initiative is dedicated in memory of Batsheva Stadlan z”l.
Kol hakavod to you and Marc. This is so needed and can literally save lives.