| Next Meeting: Tuesday, July 27 | 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. | Center for Community Cooperation | |
|
Focused Work Session
With so many great initiatives in the works, we’re making our July meeting a big work session to allow all the teams extra time to move forward with their work. Review the team notes from the last meeting here if you need to brush up on your team's next steps. If you are new to the coalition, you are welcome to join us as we continue to work on these important projects. |
|
| Featured Studies |
|
UT Southwestern Recruiting Adolescents for Study: The research study “Treatment Prediction in Adolescent and Adult Depression,” funded by the National Institutes of Health and conducted at UT Southwestern, is recruiting adolescents between the ages of 12 and 21 who suffer from depression. The goal of the study is to understand the differences in response to antidepressant treatment in adolescents and adults suffering from depression. Participants meeting study criteria will receive medication to help with depression at no cost and will be compensated for taking part in the study. Contact 214-648-5250 or teenhealth@utsouthwestern.edu for more information. |
| Stay Connected | ||||||
|
| Who Should Be H·E·R·E? |
|
If you know someone you'd like to invite to I AM H·E·R·E, let us know and we'll add them to our coalition mailing list.
Feel free to print and pass out Coalition Info Cards to anyone who may be interested. |
| Contact Us |
|
Diana Weaver Executive Director I AM H·E·R·E Coalition DWeaver@GrantHalliburton.org 972.744.9798 |
Message from the Executive Director
 |
| Diana Weaver Executive Director |
Not only was I AM H·E·R·E recognized for its work during the past year (see article below), but conference attendance reached an all-time high as interest in suicide prevention continues to rise.
This conference, now in its fifth year, has grown from 50 people the first year to this year's record attendance of 400, with an additional 200 people on a waiting list.
What does this growing interest in suicide prevention tell us? The work our coalition is doing is timely and relevant. The conference sessions on youth suicide prevention were packed with teachers, counselors, social workers and other stakeholders in our youth's mental health, all seeking information and knowledge on how to help our young people.
Each of you is making a difference. Every time you attend a coalition meeting, participate in a discussion or volunteer to take on an assignment, you are helping another young person or family in need of hope in our community. Happy summer and I look forward to seeing you all on July 27.
| COALITION UPDATE |
Bullying Conference, Pediatric Mental Health Screening Among Coalition Initiatives
A conference on bullying and a pediatric screening program are among the newest initiatives being developed by the I AM H•E•R•E Coalition. All teams continued work on their programs at the June meeting.
| Help Team |
The Help Team is working to establish a pilot for a depression screening program in a local pediatric practice. Team members will meet with several local pediatricians during the summer and will develop training for the pediatric staffs to implement the screening program, adapting materials from the TeenScreen Primary Care program.
| Education Team |
The Education Team's Bully Suicide Committee will hold a conference for parents and teachers called "The New Age of Bullying" on Saturday, August 14 from 8 a.m. to noon at Children's Medical Center Dallas. Topics will cover cyberbullying, how to monitor bullying, side effects of bullying, current laws related to bullying and other information geared to both parents and teachers. See Upcoming Events below for more information.
In addition to working on a general awareness campaign, the Awareness Committee is developing a presentation for parent groups and other organizations regarding youth depression and suicide. The committee is also working on training for a speakers' bureau to use the presentation to help educate key audiences.
The Training Committee continues its development of a program to train key stakeholders to recognize youth at risk. It is aimed at people who work with youth, including faith-based organizations, after-school programs, clubs and other youth organizations. The committee is developing a reference guidebook for use by these stakeholders.
| Resources Team |
The Resources Team is continuing to work on the online resource database, H·E·R·E for You. The team is developing a comprehensive input form that gathers information of interest to all audiences—from young people and their families to private practitioners, hospitals, treatment centers, schools and colleges, community agencies, juvenile justice, support groups, and mental health agencies.
| Encouragement Team |
The Encouragement Team is in the process of surveying youth to determine what would motivate teens to take part in peer support groups. This information will help guide the development of a model for teen and young adult support groups. This team continues to collaborate with Depression Bipolar Support Alliance (DBSA) and NAMI Dallas to leverage existing support group models and venues.
I AM H·E·R·E Recognized at State Suicide Symposium
 |
| (Left to right) Foundation volunteer and Coalition member Jodi Kimmelman and staff members Priya Singhvi, Diana Weaver, Vanita Halliburton and Amy Halliburton at the Suicide Prevention Symposium in Austin. |
Presenting the award were conference chairs Erin Espinosa, Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, and Patty Pittman, Southeast Texas Suicide Prevention Coalition, who praised I AM H·E·R·E for its many critical initiatives and said, "In just a little more than one year, this group has hit the ground running."
Accepting the award on behalf of the Coalition were Grant Halliburton Foundation president Vanita Halliburton and the Coalition’s executive director, Diana Weaver. "We are deeply honored by this recognition," Halliburton said. "Our vision for a collaborative effort that will make a significant, far-reaching impact on our community’s approach to adolescent mental health is being realized through the I AM H·E·R·E Coalition."
Helicopter Parenting Can Lead to Neurotic Children
Results of a study conducted by Neil Montgomery, a psychologist at Keene State College in New Hampshire, indicated that this type of over-parenting resulted in children who were dependent, neurotic, less open and not ready to leave the nest.
The term helicopter parenting was originally coined by college admissions personnel, who noticed a shift in the involvement level of parents. More and more, parents were calling the admissions office to intervene in matters that were previously handled between the college and student.
Montgomery and his colleagues surveyed about 300 college freshmen with a questionnaire designed to specifically assess helicopter parenting. They decided to focus on college students because college is typically a "crisis point" between the helicopter parent and the child.
About 10 percent of participants were identified as having helicopter parents, with the rate being higher in girls than in boys. They found that students with helicopter parents tended to be less open to new ideas and actions. Compared with their counterparts who had more distant parents, they were also more vulnerable, anxious and self-conscious, among other factors.
While Montgomery points out that the findings show only an association between helicopter parenting and these factors, and not a direct cause-effect link, he urges parents to think about what they are doing as they raise their children and be aware that there is such a thing as over-parenting. Findings of the study were presented in May at the Association of Psychological Science Convention.
American Academy of Pediatrics Issues Strong Appeal for Mental Health Checkups
In the June issue of the journal Pediatrics, the AAP published a supplement issued by its Task Force on Mental Health emphasizing the importance of incorporating routine mental health check-ups into primary care practices. It also cited the critical role of providers in helping to detect behavioral health issues early in child and adolescent development.
The AAP board issued its directives based on the recognition that "pediatric primary care clinicians will play an increasingly important role in promoting the social-emotional health of children and providing treatment—or serving as an entry point to specialty treatment—for children and adolescents who have mental health and substance abuse problems."
The report went on to say, "The growth in this role will involve transformational changes in pediatric primary care practice, requiring new knowledge and skills, payment structure, collaborative relationships, office systems, and resources."
The task force stresses the critical role that primary care clinicians—including pediatricians, family physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants who provide primary care to infants, children and adolescents—play in developing relationships with families and linking these families to important resources in the community.
The report cites barriers that prevent primary care clinicians from providing mental health services, including discomfort with their knowledge and skills related to mental health issues, time constraints, poor reimbursement, limited access to mental health consultation and referral resources, and administrative issues with insurance plans.
These new directives underscore the importance of the work being done by I AM H·E·R·E’s Help Team in developing tools that enable primary care clinicians to implement mental health screenings in their practices. The team plans to train clinicians and their staffs on use of the TeenScreen Primary Care toolkit.
Studies Highlight Link Between Sleep, Depression and Suicide Risk
In one study, researchers from Stanford University teamed up with researchers at Florida State University to study 49 actively suicidal undergraduate students between the ages of 19 and 23 years, over a period of three weeks.
They found that actively suicidal students had a delayed mean bedtime of 2:08 a.m., received only 6.3 hours of sleep a night and had highly variable sleep schedules.
The team accounted for baseline depression severity and measured for suicidal risk at one week and again at three weeks, using the Beck Depression Inventory and Beck Scale for Suicide. Sleep irregularity was the only sleep-related variable to predict greater mood variations, which in turn predicted elevated suicidal symptoms.
“To our knowledge, this is the first study to evaluate the unique association between sleep and suicide risk using an objective assessment of sleep and a prospective study design,” said principal investigator Rebecca Bernert, Ph.D. of Stanford University.
“Compared to other suicide risk factors such as a past suicide attempt, disturbed sleep is modifiable, often visible and amenable to treatment,” added Dr. Bernert. “In this way, the study of sleep may inform suicide risk assessment and represent a clinically unique opportunity for intervention.”
In another study, researchers found high school seniors were three times more likely to have strong depression symptoms if they had excessive daytime sleepiness. The study involved 262 high school seniors with an average age of 17.7 years attending a public high school in Mercer County, New Jersey. Excessive sleepiness was indicated by a well known sleepiness scale and mood was evaluated by a validated depression scale.
The study team found that 52 percent of participants had excessive daytime sleepiness, 30 percent had strong depression symptoms and 32 percent had some symptoms of depression.
They also found that sleep deprivation was common among the high school seniors, with students reporting a mean total sleep time on school nights of only 6.1 hours. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine reports that high school students need a little more than nine hours of sleep nightly to maintain sufficient alertness during the day.
The fact that there was such a large prevalence of high school students with strong depression or some depressive symptoms was surprising to the researchers.
“We need to target this population for appropriate diagnosis and treatment for both depression and sleep disorders,” said Dr. Mahmood I. Siddique, clinical associate professor of medicine at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey and the study’s principal investigator.
Dr. Siddique added that regular sleep and depression screening should be encouraged in public high schools. Both studies were presented at SLEEP 2010, a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society, held in June in San Antonio.
National Survey: Teen Girls More Likely to Perceive Benefits from Drinking, Drug Use
This new report, the 2009 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS), found that more than two-thirds of teen girls responded positively to the question, "using drugs helps kids deal with problems at home." This number is up 11 percent from the previous year. More than half reported that drugs help teens forget their troubles.
Stress has been identified as a key factor leading to drinking, smoking and drug use among girls. In addition, more than three times as many young girls as boys reported having symptoms of depression.
There was also a significant (16 percent) increase among boys who agreed that "drugs help you relax socially" and a 21 percent increase in boys who agreed that "parties are more fun with drugs."
"Parents of teen girls have to be especially attentive to their daughters' moods and mental health needs, which can have a direct effect on their child's decision to risk her health by getting high and drinking," said Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership.
The PATS data also points to other disturbing trends—an upswing in the use of drugs at parties and in other social situations, as well as dramatic increases in alcohol use among girls.
Past-year use of the drug Ecstasy has also increased dramatically among both teen girls and boys, but teen girls are now less likely to believe that Ecstasy use can be addictive.
In collaboration with the Treatment Research Institute, the Partnership for a Drug-Free America has developed a resource called "Time To Act" to help parents to take action as soon as they learn that their child is using drugs or alcohol. The guide offers step-by-step advice and guidance from substance abuse experts, family therapists, scientists and fellow parents to help guide them through the process of understanding drug and alcohol use, confronting a child, setting boundaries and seeking outside help.
For more information on the study or "Time To Act," visit www.drugfree.org.
There’s an App for That
As their first project, the two organizations are collaborating on the newly introduced M3 Mental Health Checklist, a 27-question, three-minute online checklist that indicates whether a person may have any of four major mental health conditions.
The M3 checklist is private, simple to use and does not require that any personal information be divulged. The test was validated as being as accurate as traditional in-office mental health screening tools, according to a study recently published in the Annals of Family Medicine. The checklist can be taken online and is also available as an application for mobile devices.
For millions of Americans with depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder or bipolar disorder, the M3 checklist is a major breakthrough for mental health care. The checklist also indicates whether a user is at risk for suicide or substance abuse, and the Web-based version provides a printable one-page test that a user can take to his or her doctor.
The iPhone/PDA version of the M3 features a pop-up screen that allows users whose test indicates that they might be at risk of suicide to call, with a single touch, 1-800-273-TALK(8255), the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.
"This exciting partnership will allow us to combine our efforts to educate the public about diagnosable and treatable illnesses, with a simple and practical tool to determine if help should be sought," says David L. Stern, Ph.D., president and CEO of Mental Health America.
Get more information on the M3 checklist.
Upcoming Events
I AM H·E·R·E Coalition MeetingsTuesday, July 27
Wednesday, September 15
Tuesday, October 26
4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Center for Community Cooperation, 2900 Live Oak St., Dallas, Texas 75204 (Google map)
The Impact of Adolescent Addiction on Younger Siblings
Tuesday, August 10 | 7:00 to 8:30 p.m.
Pam Newton (MS, LCDC, Director, Five Star Kids Program, Betty Ford Center) will present on younger siblings' common concerns, behaviors and important messages they need to hear. This free workshop will be held in Festival Hall at St. Andrew United Methodist Church, 5801 W. Plano Parkway, Plano, Texas. Call 214-587-5267 for more information.
The New Age of Bullying
Saturday, August 14 | 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon
A back-to-school conference for parents and teachers about bullying, laws regarding bullying, cyberbullying, identifying bullying and how to deal with bullying either as a parent or teacher. The conference is free. Get more information.
When Life Hands You Teenagers: An educational conference for parents and people who work with youth
Wednesday, September 22 | 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
The Grant Halliburton Foundation presents a conference for parents of teenagers and people who work with youth. Attendees will learn about the development of the teenage brain, the role of home and family life on teenage development, how to protect a teen from being the victim of bullying, and the signs of depression and mood disorders.
| I AM H·E·R·E Participating Organizations | ||
|
Bully Suicide Project C.A.R.E., Park Cities YMCA Casa Shelter, The Salvation Army Child and Family Guidance Centers Children's Medical Center Communities Foundation of Texas Communities in Schools CONTACT Crisis Line Dallas County Juvenile Detention Center Dallas County Juvenile Services Dallas ISD Dallas Police Department Dallas Psychoanalytic Center Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance Genesis Women's Shelter Girls Living Life on Purpose, Inc. Grant Halliburton Foundation Green Oaks Behavioral Health Hospital Group Excellence Healthcare Committee of Collin County |
Hickory Trail Hospital Holmes Street Foundation Jason Foundation Jewish Family Service Kim Humphries & Associates Laurel Ridge Treatment Center Lewisville ISD LifeNet Community Behavioral Healthcare Lifeworks Counseling McKinney ISD/Serenity High School Mental Health America of Greater Dallas Metrocare Services NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) Dallas and Texas North Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians Our Friends' Place Phoenix House - Feinberg Academy Plano ISD Providence of Texas Rainbow Days |
Region 10 Education Service Center Renfrew Center Salvation Army DFW Metroplex Command Suicide and Crisis Center of North Texas Taylor Hooton Foundation Terrell State Hospital Texas Counseling Association Texas Department of State Health Services Texas Health Resources/Presbyterian Plano Seay Behavioral Health Center Texas STAR/NORTHSTAR/Texas Health Steps Touched by Suicide University Behavioral Health of Denton and Carrollton University of North Texas UT Southwestern Medical Center Value Options NORTHSTAR West Counseling YMCA CASA Shelter |
|
I AM H·E·R·E is an initiative of the Grant Halliburton Foundation. 800 E. Campbell Rd, Suite 290 · Richardson, Texas 75081 · 972.744.9798 · www.IAmHereCoalition.org |