“Time to ACT” teaches young people about depression
and offers vital intervention tools
Childhood can be challenging enough, and the added stress of a mental health issue can make it even harder. Today, Thursday, May 9, is National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day. Organizations across the country are taking time to bring attention to the fact that recognizing and treating children’s mental health issues is vitally important.
The Awareness Day is a key strategy of the SAMHSA’s Caring for Every Child’s Mental Health Campaign. The Campaign seeks to raise awareness about the importance of children’s mental health so that children and youth get help for mental health disorders with the same urgency as any other health condition.
In observance of this day, Screening for Mental Health, Inc., the parent organization of Military Pathways, is launching “Time to ACT,” the newest video component of the SOS Signs of Suicide® Middle School Program.
For more than a decade, the SOS program has been teaching students that depression is a treatable illness. Through the use of “Time to Act” and its accompanying discussion guide, students learn that suicide is not a normal response to stress, but rather a preventable tragedy that can occur as a result of untreated depression. The video gives students specific action steps, encourages them to engage in a discussion about these issues with their parents, and utilizes the peer-to-peer help-seeking model known as ACT® (Acknowledge-Care-Tell). Acknowledge that there is a problem, tell the friend that you Care, and most importantly Tell a trusted adult.
“Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for youth in the U.S. However, the emotional crises that so often precede suicide are both recognizable and treatable, and good prevention programs can teach youth how to recognize the symptoms of depression, in themselves or a friend,” said Douglas G. Jacobs, M.D., associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and medical director of Screening for Mental Health, Inc.
“Time to Act” features various scenes, including students seated around a table discussing mental health topics, one-on-one conversations between a high school student and a trusted adult, and educational vignettes modeling how to respond to a friend who needs help using the ACT technique.
Other components of the SOS program include student and parent educational materials as well as gatekeeper training materials for faculty and staff.
The SOS program has been used at high schools and middle schools worldwide. Through funding from the Department of Defense, over 300 DoDEA and military impacted schools have received the program since 2007.
Schools and organizations interested in hosting a mental health awareness event in the coming weeks or months can register online to receive free access to “Time to Act” and an event-specific facilitator guide. To preview the trailer for “Time to Act” visit http://youtu.be/CRjAm3b-e_w.
