How to Treat and Prevent Adolescent Mental Health Disorder

Approximately one in five children and adolescents are affected by mental health disorders at any given time according to the National Mental Health Information Center. Adolescent mental health disorders include depression, bipolar disorder, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among others. There are ways to both treat and prevent the mental health problems seen in adolescents.

Instructions

Treating

• 1

  Make an appointment for the adolescent with a family doctor to discuss signs and symptoms of depression. The family doctor should be the first place to start when getting help; family physicians can refer adolescents to quality psychologists and counselors who specialize in adolescent mental disorders.

• 2

  Schedule an an appointment with a professional psychologist or mental health counselor who specializes in teen and adolescent mental health services. Go with your adolescent or teenager to the counseling appointment to ensure that he gets there.

• 3

  Follow through with any adolescent mental health disorder treatment plans for which the counselor or psychologist needs you and the family to assist. This includes attending family counseling sessions if required by the specialist; conflict is common when adolescents live at home with mental disorders, and there may be other dysfunction within the family or relationships. Also, help the adolescent remember to take any anti-psychotic or antidepressant drugs that may be prescribed by a psychiatrist.

• 4

  Engage the adolescent in any other way that helps relieve mental health disorder symptoms. Many mental health problems such as depression benefit from social activities and support. Encourage your adolescent to get involved with extracurricular activities at school. Make the child's school guidance counselors and teachers aware of the mental health disorder. Give extra emotional support to the adolescent while he is at home by offering advice, assistance, and talking with him on a regular basis.

Preventing

• 5

  Create an open parental relationship with adolescents and children within the family. Adolescents benefit from having a parent that they can discuss issues with; creating this ongoing relationship may prevent adolescent mental health disorders from starting or getting worse.

• 6

  Educate the adolescent about the dangers associated with alcohol and substance abuse. Many drugs, such as alcohol, are depressants and as such can trigger depressive symptoms and mental health disorders over the long-term.

• 7

  Help the adolescent develop a strong social support system by encouraging relationships with school guidance counselors, extended family members such as aunts and uncles, and youth pastors or leaders. Creating a social support system ensures that other people are around to talk with the adolescent about concerns with mental health problems and family issues, preventing serious mental breakdowns in the adolescent.

• 8

  Encourage healthy a diet and exercise as these contribute to an overall healthy body and mind; exercise boosts adolescents' self-esteem and confidence, providing a protective safety-net against depression and other adolescent mental health disorders. Prepare healthful meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the adolescent and whole family that include fruits, vegetables, and the rest of the food groups. Take your adolescent to health clubs and gyms to show her how to use exercise machines properly.