Adolescent Wellness acts immediately on medical research findings with pilot programming.  Our goal is to simplify depression prevention and reduce the typical lag of ten years between research and standard practice.

The serious consequences of depression in youth emphasize the need to address mental health from a preventive perspective. In the US, more than 800,000 youth suffer from depression each year, usually undiagnosed or untreated. Untreated depression can lead to deteriorating schoolwork, high absenteeism, dropping out, and strained relationships. With untreated depression as children, these young people are much more vulnerable to depression as adults.

• As many as 24% of adolescents will experience a depressive episode by the age of 24 years, with a median onset age of 15 years (Van Voorhees et al., 2008)
• Among adolescents suffering from depression, only about 25% receive treatment (Garber et al., 2009)

Depressive disorders in adolescence are the largest single contributor to suicide risk during this period (Van Voorhees et al., 2008). Suicide is the second leading cause of death among 25 to 34 year olds, and the third leading cause of death among 15-24 year olds (CDC, 2006). More than 500,000 adolescents make a suicide attempt that requires medical attention (Columbia U., 2003).

While these statistics are alarming, there is evidence for the strong potential of prevention programming in reducing symptoms of depression and risk for suicide.

• Studies indicate that prevention programs may reduce the incidence of depressive episodes and self-reported depressive symptoms in adolescents with high familial and individual risk for depression (Garber et al., 2009)
• Studies indicate that the best way to prevent suicide is through the early recognition and treatment of depression and other psychiatric illnesses. (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Facts about Depression and Suicide)

Rather than waiting for symptoms to develop, education activities can prevent a significant number of cases of depression.  As one example, risk factors associated with mental illness include poor problem solving skills, inability to generate alternative solutions, elevated levels of stress and poor coping skills.  Through prevention programming, all ages can learn how to frame problems, create more options and become better problem solvers.

Depression prevention education is taught using resources from the School Curricula page at leading schools such as grade 7-12 Roxbury Latin (West Roxbury, MA), which consistently ranks among the best secondary schools in the country.   Health education occurs outside of schools when parents and youth partner with their pediatrician each visit by discussing assessment such as the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) that flag common symptoms of depression in youth such as recurring headache or stomach ache and irritability. More suggestions are within the  Parent Resources page of this website. Clergy and youth leaders can help prevent depression by building wellness skills and referral. Resources may be found through the Peer Leadership  page.

For those who do still develop symptoms - the majority of which emerge during adolescence - education increases awareness, resilience, and coping skills with the purpose of promoting early recognition and intervention in order to prevent serious crises from occurring. Treatment is effective for the majority of adolescents who develop symptoms of depression.