I had a sense that something was going on, but I was afraid to say anything…

Courtney, a 15-year-old from Portland, Oregon always felt she was different from the other kids. “I had a sense that something was going on, but I was afraid to say anything because I didn't know anyone else had a similar problem,” she says.

After her parents granted their consent, Courtney agreed to participate in a mental health checkup being offered by her school; a voluntary mental health screening program which identifies teens who may be at risk for a variety of heath and mental health problems. The screening program is conducted in two stages: teens fill out a short questionnaire and are then interviewed by a mental health professional. If the mental health professional determines that a teen may be at risk, parents are notified and offered assistance in arranging a complete mental health evaluation for their child.

“Teenagers have a hard time asking for help,” Courtney explains. “Without the screening, I'm not sure how I would have gotten the help I needed. I actually thought about hurting myself, not wanting to be here at all. There were a lot of signs that I just didn't realize then were that kind of a sign. I thought maybe it was just me growing up, being a teenager.”

Courtney and her parents value their mental health checkup experience and credit the local program for helping their family access the help Courtney needed to return to the full and productive life she enjoys today.  

“I look back and kind of see this fog behind me of how bad things were and I can look back and, you know, just be very thankful that I'm out of that dark woods.”