Do what makes you happy and have someone you can talk to.
What might sound like good advice from a friend is now integrated into Capital High School’s health class curriculum.
The Teen Mental Health First Aid pilot program trained 175 Capital High freshmen in the fall, providing guidance on managing mental health in both crisis and noncrisis situations. It also requires 5% of a school’s staff to receive the training; around a quarter have participated at Capital High, as well as 60 other workers at sites across ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe Public Schools.
“While we’re educating young people,†said Jenn Jevertson, one of the trainers, “it’s also really important to make sure that the adults that are surrounding them also have some of the skills and some of the language to know what to do if a young person confides in them.â€
Jevertson is assistant director of the district’s Office of Student Wellness. She trained staff and students with Suzanne Pearlman, a ·è¿ÍÖ±²¥ Fe resident and trainer for mental health programs around the country.
The pilot program comes as New Mexico, which has had among the highest rates of teen suicide in the nation in recent years, saw its teen suicide death rate edge back up in 2023 after a significant drop.
Still, the numbers — 12 deaths in 2022, compared to 17 in 2023, have declined significantly since 2020, when 26 teens died by suicide, and 2017, when there were 32 deaths, the highest number in the last decade.
There are some promising signs of improved mental health among the state’s young people: Data from the biennial Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey, which tracks a range of risk factors, shows fewer teens reported they had attempted suicide or felt sad or hopeless in 2023 than in 2021.
“The pandemic really exasperated those skills of feeling confident and comfortable to socialize, increasing risk of stress in stressful situations, as well as increased risk of things like panic attacks,†Pearlman said.
She also noted the onset of mental health conditions often occurs in the teen years: 50% of mental health challenges and disorders are established by age 14, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and by age 24, that rate increases to 75%.
“So,†said Pearlman, “this age group of adolescents is the perfect time to start teaching this.â€
Positive outcomes
Before the mental health course began, students at Capital High were asked to write questions about mental health on Post-it notes, such as:
- Who do I go to?
- Is it confidential?
- How do I talk about it?
- What if I’m really worried about a friend?
The questions prepare educators for the gaps in knowledge and ready young people to ask difficult questions.
Before classes begin, parents are briefed on what their child is learning to equip them, Jevertson said, in case they need to support their child or another young person in the community.
Once classes begin, the first thing students learn is to check in on their own mental health and to decipher the difference between a bad day and prolonged sadness.
“Hard things happen to all of us, and so there’s that — and then there’s a mental health challenge. That lasts longer. It’s more severe than just a couple bad days,†Jevertson said.
Students are encouraged to manage their own mental health through the things they enjoy, like playing an instrument or going on an walk and, just as importantly, to be comfortable seeking help from a trusted adult.
Halfway through, the course begins to delve into more challenging topics like traumatic events, suicide, self injury, and overdose.
“And then we also have some sessions after so that we’re not ending on heavier topics,†Jevertson said.
Pearlman noted some positive outcomes already have emerged.
“A lot of them said things like, ‘I’m going to be less judgmental to my friends who are being mean to me. I’m going to be less judgmental and more, like, curious and supportive for my friends.’ So, really good outcomes already,†she said.
Plans to expand
Pearlman and Jevertson presented the curriculum to principals at the district’s major high schools.
“Our plan is that eventually,†Jevertson said, “this will be expanded across the district. That’s what we’re working towards.â€
“I think it’s a great initiative,†Superintendent Hilario “Larry†Chavez said. â€This is one of those pilot projects that we thought could be important for the health of all of our students.
He added the program grows more effective with each freshman class.
It’s not the district’s first mental health initiative. Chavez cited the four social-emotional learning days implemented during the 2023-24 school year to prioritize the development of students’ social and emotional skills.
“But it’s a difficult task,†he said. “We can’t solve the problems on our own, especially around mental health. There’s a lack of a support network throughout the state and the U.S. that we need to help solidify, so all of our students — and even adults — can seek out that assistance.â€
State Rep. Pamelya Herndon, D-Albuquerque, has introduced House Bill 58, which would direct $1.75 million toward the creation of 14 mental health rooms in schools across the state. It’s an expansion of her sponsorship of 2023’s House Bill 112, which allocated funding for 14 schools to deploy wellness rooms.
“There have been a number of suicides by teens within our state,†she said, “and so we want to stop that.â€
The first wellness room originated in Albuquerque Public Schools’ Eldorado High School, which experienced eight student suicides in 2019 alone.
To address the state’s chronic shortage of mental health and behavioral specialists, Herndon said wellness rooms would be staffed by interns at colleges and universities studying behavioral health, psychology and sociology.
“We do not want students to go in there alone,†she said of the wellness rooms. “We want them to have someone to talk to.â€
Her bill also requests $300,000 for the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Program, which would provide schools with trauma-informed and culture-centered suicide prevention training.
Herndon worked with students from Eldorado High and other schools across the state on the wellness room pilot.
“I just wish you could have heard the students talking about how much it meant to them,†she said. “It wasn’t just so they could get out of class, but sometimes they really needed some someplace to go to talk about how they were feeling.â€