Teenage mental health

Teenage Mental Health Defined

Teenage mental health encompasses a teen’s emotional, social, and physical well being. Every aspect of teenage mental health poses complex challenges within their constantly changing world. Teenage mental health is crucial to the future success and productivity of teens. During puberty, mood swings become extremely common. One in five teens have a diagnosable mental disorder, which means that awareness of teenage mental health is growing.

Teen mental health at Elevations RTC

At Elevations RTC, a residential treatment center, improving teenage mental health is the main goal. With proven therapeutic methods and a caring staff, Elevations RTC provides care and treatment for teens with emotional, behavioral and learning disorders.

Elevations RTC addresses specific problems within teenage mental health to address the struggles teens are facing. To help improve teenage mental health, Elevations RTC utilizes a peer culture model that allows teens to help their peers overcome personal issues such as depression, anger, bipolar disorder, and substance use.

Research

Results of a longitudinal study over 25 years found a significant increase in emotional problems amongst teenagers. This demonstrates that teenage mental health may be on the decline.

A 2013 study conducted by the Duke Center for Family and Child Policy found that less than half of teens with a diagnosable mental disorder received treatment. They also found that those who do seek treatment rarely get help from a teen mental health professional.

Contemporary article

An article in The Independent describes the recent trend of getting a semi-colon tattoo in support of mental health awareness. This movement is based on the efforts of a non-profit movement called Project Semi-Colon. According to them, a semi-colon represents the moment when an author chooses not to end their sentence when they could have. For Project Semi-Colon this is representative of someone who chose not to take their life. For mental health in teens, this movement helps promote awareness of a variety of mental illnesses.