Whenever I speak at schools or in front of a group of parents, I always try to make the point that teenagers don’t always come out and tell adults about what is bothering them. It is very important for school officials and parents to work together to make sure that the children can trust that the adults in their lives will listen to their issues and would do something about them.
Here are some comments made by various teenagers about things happening in their lives:
“But what some people don’t understand, is that you can’t throw someone into therapy, and expect them to be better with a snap of a finger. It can take up to months, or years, for someone to recover. It wasn’t working, so my dad took me out of therapy, and forgot about my depression. Now, I struggle with depression, and my dad doesn’t want to believe that I have it. I confide in my friends, and in my closest relatives for help.”
“I don’t really have any one to talk to in my life except my best friend but she lives in Canada”
“I try to tell my parents but sometimes I tell them like come downstairs with me and they call me a little kid and there is nothing to worry about, it’s your own house and I feel like I have no one to talk to about it.”
If the parents and the school staff work together, it is very likely that the children will receive the help they need to move forward in their lives.