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• May is Mental Health Awareness Month

  

  Each May, Mental Health Awareness Month seeks to raise awareness about the importance of mental health and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health disorders. Throughout the year, but especially in May, mental health providers play a crucial role in promoting awareness and taking action to improve the mental health of our communities. What is Mental Health Awareness Month? Mental Health Awareness Month began in the United States in 1949 as Mental Health Week. It was expanded to a month-long observance in 1980. The goal of Mental Health Awareness Month is to raise awareness about mental health and wellness, reduce the stigma surrounding mental health conditions, and promote greater access to mental health services and resources. Why is Mental Health Awareness Month important? In the U.S., more than 1 in 5 adults are living with a mental illness. Yet despite the prevalence of mental illness, stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health are significant barriers to treatment and recovery. Mental health and physical health are equal components to a healthy lifestyle, but many individuals fail to receive the support and care they need. Mental Health Awareness ...

• Focus on Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week!

  

  This week is Children’s Mental Health Awareness Week, a time to address the mental health needs of children and teach them to care for their own mental health as well as the mental health of those around them.  It is never the wrong time to communicate the importance of prioritizing mental health and offering acceptance, support, and respect for those who are facing mental health challenges.  Get involved  Download materials from the National Federation of Families, which offers age-appropriate activities and worksheets for students from Pre-K through high school.  Read a book about mental health topics to a child. The Federation of Families of South Carolina has put together a reading list focusing on a number of different mental health topics at various reading levels.   Join “Flip the Script Live,” a free fireside chat with children’s mental health experts from around the country.  Participate in a virtual event sponsored by the Youth Mental Health Project. With events ranging from glitter jar making to a live concert, there’s something for everyone.  PAR offers many assessments geared specifically toward children’s mental health concerns. Learn more about some of our most popular products for school psychology.   

• Take part in National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day

  

  According to Mental Health America, 60.3% of youth in the U.S. with major depression do not receive any mental health treatment. In the 2022 report, Nevada, Idaho and Arizona had the highest prevalence of mental illness and lowest rates of access to care. Curious how your state ranks in comparison? You can access the youth data chart here.   As a PAR customer, you know the crucial role mental health plays in the development of children. It’s in that spirit that we recognize National Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day on Saturday, May 7.  Started by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) more than a decade ago, the purpose of the event is to highlight  the importance of  the mental health needs of children and reinforce the concept that mental health is a key element in a child’s development.   How is this accomplished? Nationwide, more than 1,100 communities and 170 organizations get involved by taking part in community and virtual events, health fairs, youth-oriented educational programs, and social media interactions.   Children will always need help with various challenges, including behavioral, ...

• The State of Mental Health Among Mental Health Professionals

  

  May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Mental health providers play a critical role in promoting awareness and working to improve the lives of others. Yet, compassion fatigue and burnout are very real issues for those in the field. For the next two weeks, the PAR blog will explore these issues within the mental health community and provide guidance on how those in the mental health field can prioritize self-care to protect their own mental health needs. Mental health providers with prolonged or cumulative exposure to compassion stress may be vulnerable to burnout if early steps to counteract excessive empathetic involvement are not taken. A major part of a mental health professional’s job is the ability to empathize with clients. Developing a successful therapeutic alliance leads to better outcomes and correlates with the capacity to identify, comprehend, and share an individual's feelings, thoughts, and experiences. However, prolonged exposure to distressing information can negatively affect a mental health professional and is a risk factor for secondary traumatic stress. Studies have shown that health professionals have moderate to high levels of burnout and secondary traumatic ...

• Why Children Bully: New Research Links Bullying to Mental Health Problems

  A great deal of research over the years has focused on the devastating effects of bullying on the mental health of its victims. However, a recent study also suggests that children with mental disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and depression are much more likely to engage in bullying behavior toward others. Lead author Dr. Frances Turcotte-Benedict, a Brown University masters of public health student and a fellow at Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, presented the findings at the American Academy of Pediatrics’ national conference in New Orleans on October 22. Turcotte-Benedict and her colleagues reviewed data provided by parents and guardians on mental health and bullying in the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health, which included nearly 64,000 children ages 6 to 17 years. In the survey, 15.2 percent of children were identified as a bully by their parent or guardian. Children with a diagnosis of depression or ADHD were three times as likely to be identified as bullies; children diagnosed with ODD were identified as bullies six times more often than children with ...

• A National Spotlight on Children’s Mental Health

  

  President Joe Biden recently addressed a topic that PAR has focused on for many years—children’s mental health.   “Let’s take on mental health,” he said during his State of the Union Address March 1. “Especially among our children, whose lives and education have been turned upside down.”  Though we have long recognized this need, it has escalated drastically in recent years as a result of the pandemic, which has seen levels of childhood trauma, anxiety, depression, and more increase and academic performance decrease.   A recent report published by the Centers for Disease Control shows that pediatric emergency department visits by children and adolescents for mental health concerns have increased since 2020, with issues such as eating disorders, depression, anxiety, trauma, and stress-related disorders on the rise.    One of our overarching goals as a company is to help professionals like you reach these children and get them the help they need. This is part of the reason why we offer regular continuing education webinars designed to keep you up-to-date on new instruments and research as well as a 24/7 free, on-demand Training Portal, where you ...