The beginning of a brand new year is the perfect time to refocus our energy and set goals for the coming 12 months.
But whether it’s to quit smoking or lose weight, New Year’s resolutions tend, for obvious reasons, to focus on the aspects of our well being over which we have the most control — the physical.
Mental health is a little bit trickier. Like any disease, it often requires outside help to diagnose and treat. But unlike a broken arm or an open wound, there’s no straightforward way to fix a mind that is in pain. That makes it no less critical.
So it’s good to hear that the mental health of Langley’s young people is on the radar for trustees of the Langley School district.
Board trustees started the conversation about students’ mental health and wellness at their most recent meeting in early December — acknowledging it is a serious issue and one with symptoms that begin to manifest early.
As trustee Alison McVeigh noted, it’s a subject the board wasn’t discussing even two years ago.
School is of course the place where teenagers spend the largest chunk of their time surrounded by peers, giving teachers and other school staff the opportunity to observe how they behave and interact and to detect any telling changes in an individual over a period of time.
While it’s right to say the district has a role in identifying young people who are struggling with mental health issues — anxiety and depression chief among them — it is not up to schools to single handedly address the problem.
“The school district can’t solve everyone’s mental wellness challenges,” said assistant superintendent Claire Guy “Counsellors can help in the short term but they are not meant to be a student’s personal therapist.”
Educators must work to reduce the stigma attached to mental health and support services must be in place when they’re needed.
That’s where the province comes in.
Parents across B.C. have been calling on regional health authorities to do more for youth struggling with suicidal thoughts and mental health issues, including psychotic episodes.
A shortage of beds for youths in need of psychiatric treatment had an Abbotsford mother pleading with the Fraser Health Authority at a Langley conference last September to do more for her troubled daughter.
“It’s great there are seven beds in Surrey, but what about Abbotsford, what about Langley and all the other communities?” she asked .
Good question. Perhaps 2016 will provide a few more answers.