FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 19, 2011

NEW YORK – The TeenScreen National Center for Mental Health Checkups at Columbia University is offering new resources for mental health screening programs in schools and communities online for the first time. Launched nearly 10 years ago, there are currently more than 2,000 TeenScreen sites in 46 states nationwide.

Making the free, evidence-based materials available online will make it easier for schools to access the latest version of these newly updated resources and will also enable more schools to participate in the program.

“Nearly 200,000 young people in Illinois suffer from a serious mental disorder so significant that it causes impairment in their daily lives,” said Carol Gall, executive director of the Mental Health America of Illinois (MHAI). “Adolescents throughout our state could greatly benefit from mental health checkups that help to identify teens experiencing symptoms early on and be linked to appropriate and effective resources before they become significantly impaired, or worse, attempt suicide.”

Ariel Mindel is the MHAI’s director of public education, coordinating voluntary screenings with parental consent at four Chicago-area public schools currently served by the program. “TeenScreen is a very effective screening program that identifies incidences of major depression, anxiety disorders and substance abuse among adolescents before they fall behind in school, end up in serious trouble or worst of all make an attempt to end their lives,” she said. Ms. Mindel also pointed out that research from the National Institute of Mental Health shows that nearly half of all mental disorders start by age 14.

“Adolescents are not often asked about their emotional health,” said Ms. Mindel. “We have found teens very responsive to TeenScreen. Students who participated in the school screenings were asked why they thought mental health checkups were important for people their age,” she continued. “Here are some of their answers: ‘…kids have a lot of emotions and a lot of problems at this age’; ‘People sometimes go through things and don’t want to tell anyone else about it…if they are thinking about killing themselves, they could talk to you guys and request help.’”

Screening Adolescents Helps Reduce the Risks of Untreated Mental Illnesses

As with other physical illnesses, identifying mental illnesses in adolescence increases the likelihood that it will be identified in early, easier-to-treat stages. Left untreated, mental and emotional problems in adolescents and young adults can lead to chronic mental illnesses, drug and alcohol abuse, violence, school failure, criminal involvement, and can derail social and life development.

Approximately 50 percent of students age 14 and older that suffer from a serious mental illness drop out of high school; this is the highest rate of any disability group. Many youth with unidentified and untreated mental illnesses end up in jails and prisons: 65 percent of boys and 75 percent of girls in juvenile detention suffer from a mental illness.

Most tragically, untreated mental illnesses are a significant risk factor for teen suicide, which is a major public health problem throughout the United States. In Illinois, suicide is the third leading cause of death for 11 to 21 year olds, according to a report from the Centers of Disease Control.

The TeenScreen Schools and Communities Screening Process Emphasizes Confidentiality

TeenScreen Schools and Communities screening sites include schools, clinics, shelters and a variety of other youth-serving organizations and settings. TeenScreen Schools and Communities offers free program development and implementation materials, screening questionnaires, and technical assistance to communities that wish to implement this screening program.

TeenScreen requires that school administrators and teachers not be involved in the screening process to ensure confidentiality of all results. All results from the evidence-based screening questionnaire are confidential, protected by federal laws: The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

The TeenScreen National Center for Mental Health Checkups at Columbia University is a non-profit initiative and national policy center devoted to increasing youth access to regular mental health checkups. TeenScreen is listed in The National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices and the Best Practices Registry for Suicide Prevention.

To learn more about the Schools and Communities program and download the new materials, please visit: http://www.teenscreen.org/programs/schools-communities

-###-

To arrange an interview with MHAI Executive Carol Gall, Ariel Mindel or TeenScreen program leadership, please contact: Farrell Fitch at (781) 431-6166 or fitchfa@childpsych.columbia.edu.