A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
We should be worried about our teenagers. The scary facts are that one in six 12-24 year olds think “women should know their place”, and one in three think that ‘exerting control over someone isn’t a form of violence’. These are some of the findings from a survey of over 3000 young men and women, which also [...]
Often masked as a health-kick a new form of the eating disorder, anorexia, is manifesting itself in teenagers. When John and Julie Armstrong's 12-year-old son, Jed, told them that he wanted to get fit in the summer of 2014, neither thought anything of it. A keen footballer, Jed designed a regime of exercise for himself [...]
Older generations mean well and are trying to find the answers to a growing problem. But when it comes to young people, it is hard to know what is going on in our minds. When there is already so much resistance from young people to any government-designed idea, it is not going to work. The [...]
How does it make you feel when someone close to you tells you they feel fat? As one of a group of women from around the world who recently joined with Endangered Bodies to ask Facebook to remove the body shaming ‘I feel fat’ and ‘I feel ugly’ status options and emoticons from all versions [...]
Counselling homeless young people is arguably one of the most difficult areas of work for registered psychologists. Homeless young people are often put in the ‘too hard’ basket, but there are three strategies that can be used to overcome the challenge – engagement, rapport and trust building, and a transparent approach to reporting. Homeless young [...]
Youth suicide is an immensely complex interplay of social, psychological, neurological, biological and cultural variables. The problem is that these variables carry unequal weights and no single one has been demonstrated to be necessary or sufficient to cause an individual to take their own life. This makes it very difficult to predict whether a young [...]
A man who was repeatedly molested by his youth pastor lashed out at church elders, accusing them of using the child sexual abuse royal commission to "justify their failings and minimise their responsibilities". In a statement read out to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse, the man, now aged in his mid-20s, [...]
An Australian first La Trobe University study of gender diverse and transgender young people has revealed high rates of depression, suicidal thoughts and anxiety. The beyondblue funded report, From blues to rainbows: the mental health and well-being of gender diverse and transgender young people in Australia, found that half were diagnosed with depression and two thirds had experienced [...]
When you know someone going through depression, it can be a difficult time of uncertainty and worry. Young people will often speak with their peers before they consult an adult or professional, so it’s important to arm them with skills to support their friends. While everyone goes through a different experience, it can be difficult [...]
Depression and anxiety are affecting more young people than ever before. According to a study published today by the Office for National Statistics, one in five 16- to 24-year-olds are suffering psychological problems, which is almost the rate at which these are seen in early middle age, the life-stage usually most associated with mental health issues. [...]
