Education is An Antidote to the Mental Health Crisis
May 20, 2021
7 min read
On why Resolvve believes it is crucial to improve the mental health literacy of students worldwide
Written by Noah Tile
Illustrations by Mayara Lista
No student should be deprived of the tools they need to deal with difficulties; instead, they should be equipped with the skills they need to thrive.
We are facing a huge youth mental health crisis in our society. The latest surveys from the CDC in June 2020 show the vast extent of this issue. While 40% of U.S. adults reported mental health or substance use struggles, the number for young adults between the ages of 18-24 was 74.9%. On top of that 25.5% of that same age bracket reported seriously contemplating suicide during the 30 days before the survey. You can see more survey analysis done in the UK during COVID.
We hope these numbers reduce once the pandemic passes. That said, let’s look at pre-COVID statistics for the student population, to get a perspective on how serious this problem is:
The likeliest age group to experience mental illness and/or substance use disorders are between the ages of 15-24. In Ontario, 34% of high school students have moderate to serious levels of psychological distress (depression and anxiety), with 14% having serious levels.
The burden of youth mental health is at $421 million and $51 billion overall for all age groups, in the Canadian economy
There is no easy answer to pinpoint what is causing this crisis. Although the issue is complex, we propose solutions that we hope will mitigate the problem. If we see even a tiny reduction, that would be a worthwhile endeavour. We simply can’t sit back and allow this crisis to continue. We must address the psychological and economic impact of mental health in youth.
We propose that mental health education, starting at the high school (and hopefully even earlier) can help ease some of this burden. Resolvve is developing high quality mental health education for students, educators and parents. We are still big supporters of psychotherapy and hope that equitable access to it increases over time. Getting students access to therapy suited to their personal, academic and professional needs is a top priority at Resolvve. You can read more about why we feel therapy cannot be replaced by education.
Accessibility and Affordability
Only about one in five young people in Canada who require professional mental health support receive it. Access to quality support is not as universal as it should be due to costs and insufficient funding. (The other factors are long wait times and not knowing where to get help. Resolvve seeks to solve both of these issues, by ensuring no wait times, and creating a student focused hub, so youth and their families know exactly where to find support.
Therapy is too expensive for too many people, even when significantly reduced as it is with Resolvve. Unfortunately, only psychiatry is covered under free health care in Canada, while the rest must rely on insurance or their own funding. Psychiatrists provide an important service, but they are limited to prescribing drugs. They lack the same expertise and skills that a therapist brings.
Education will further increase access to mental health support. A one-year subscription to Resolvve’s comprehensive digital learning is less than the price of one Resolvve therapy session. Educational interventions across the board are cheaper for the individual than single psychotherapy sessions.
Most importantly, through research on interventions in schools, they are effective in creating integrative care that improves mental health and educational attainment, as well as improved emotions and behavior functioning. This provides a pathway to mitigating the incredibly high economic burden imposed by mental health, attributed to lost productivity and reduced quality of life.
Resolvve will team up with high schools and post-secondary institutions across the country and the world to bring mental health education into the curriculum. This will promote mental health for all students, including those at risk. Mental health is on a continuum, and not limited to those with severe presentations of mental illness.
Increasing mental health literacy is one way to increase mental health accessibility for all.
Stigma Reduction
Normalizing and promoting mental health through awareness, learning, education and literacy, will also reduce the stigma. The more students talk about it and incorporate it into everyday conversation, the less shame there will be. Normalizing mental health opens students to the possibility of therapy and reduces loneliness. Loneliness is a substantial risk factor for mental health difficulties.
Preventative
People often come to therapy when their problems warrant professional intervention. In many respects, therapeutic support is a reactive approach to the mental health crisis, while educational approach is proactive and preventative.
But let’s face the facts. 70% of mental health problems have onset during childhood and adolescence. However, most children do not receive regular support. So where does this leave us?
We have a generation of children that grow up without the tools, skills and support to manage their mental health. Instead, problems will persist, untreated into adolescence and eventually adulthood. This is a losing recipe.
What if we taught students these skills are early in life and prepared them to handle their psychological, emotional and social difficulties? Imagine a young student, plagued with intrusive thoughts, confused and silent, not knowing what to do or where to turn. Now imagine the relief they experience in learning how to handle them, instead of letting them define her identity.
With education, this is in reach.
Mental health literacy and education programming serves as a viable preventative strategy, as we have seen thus far in school based initiatives based on research by the Mental Health Commission of Canada. With students developing skills to deal with anxiety and mood problems at a younger age, we stop these issues from escalating later in adulthood. This can help students everywhere improve their emotional regulation and behavioral functioning.
It is time to act. Right now, the World Health Organization (WHO) considers depression to be one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Neuropsychiatric disorders are the highest contributor to the global burden of disease within young people. Instead of waiting for the problem to get worse, the WHO recommends preventative strategies to help improve this problem.
Promotion of Mental Health
But more than that, mental health is not just about overcoming difficulties related to depression, anxiety and other concerns. It focuses on building strengths, developing character, and increasing positive emotions. Students will develop learning strategies, tools and skills to flourish.
Mental health is not just about surviving but is also about thriving. It is about being proactive, not just reactive.
The promotion of mental health is another preventative strategy to increase mental well-being and develop positive personal and interpersonal life skills. It can benefit and increase well-being for the entire student body Building positive skills is just as important as handling the challenging aspects of mental health. Together, both can improve the quality of life for students.
Teachers and Parents
Mental health learning should also be utilized by parents and educators to better understand and support young students. Systematic mental health learning for parents and teachers is being recommended by The School-Based Mental Health and Substance Abuse (SBMHSA) Consortium in Canada.
Increasing the training and competency of these people, who are called natural supports, helps students feel supported. In turn, this benefits a student’s psychosocial well-being and academic performance. Resolvve will have seminars and workshops built to support parents and teachers in supporting student mental health.
At home, parents and their children can also learn together, helping to build trust, safety and connection when it comes to dealing with mental health.
Community
Students can partake in modules with peers, and fell less alone, less alienated in the process. Resolvve will have online groups, based on a number of factors, related to types of interests and concerns, as well as age and location. Students will be afforded opportunities to connect with like-minded individuals across the world in a supportive, growth oriented environment.
Summing it Up
Mental health education can reduce stigma and shame, while increasing access to mental health learning and skill building for all students. In a preventative and promotional way, it can help students deal with difficulties, with less stigma, while also obtaining the tools to thrive. Education, especially as taught in school curriculums, can reach a greater number of students in a more affordable and equitable manner, while additionally serving to broaden the competencies and literacy of the circle of care (parents, teachers). While therapy will always matter, we need mental health literacy to become a staple of the student diet, like physical and sexual education; there is too much at stake.
Come learn with us online at Resolvve and see how your institution can embed our evidence-based, comprehensive and holistic into your curriculum. We will have e-books, courses, workshops, live events, community building and much much more.
