Mental Health & Well-Being
Supporting Youth Mental Health
Adolescence is the phase of development where many mental health issues arise. AHI offers resources in various formats, from trainings to practice change guides.
Why it Matters
During adolescence, young people are at the peak of their physical health, emotional growth and creativity. This is also the phase of development where many mental health issues arise. Both medical and behavioral health providers can play a crucial role in ensuring adolescents’ mental health needs are met so they can thrive.
AHI offers mental health resources in various formats, from trainings to practice change guides:
- Timely Topics Modules – Web-based modules for clinicians
- Spark trainings – Ready-to-use mini-trainings
- Starter Guides – Mini-toolkits that offer concrete, actionable steps to improve adolescent care
- Youth-Friendly Materials – Visual cues to help build and enhance youth-friendly environments
- Adolescent-Centered Environment Assessment Process for Behavioral Health
Power Meeting
Integrated Behavioral Health
Many adolescent-serving health centers find it challenging to implement effective collaboration between primary care and behavioral health providers. Integrating behavioral health services into primary care settings usually entails implementing new workflows for screening, communications, billing, and arranging for provider and staff training.
To help sites tackle common challenges with integrating behavioral health services, we created the Power Meeting: Integrated Behavioral Health, an interactive, web-based tool that guides interdisciplinary teams through one meeting where they work through activities and create a customized, actionable plan over the course of two hours.
Timely Topics Trainings
Exposure to Bullying
What are best practices around screening for exposure to bullying, and how should providers handle positive screens?
This module incorporates the latest research, video vignettes from youth, and recommendations from subject matter expert Dr. Ellen Selkie, to help clinicians support adolescent patients who experience bullying.
Trauma-Informed Care with Adolescent Patients
For adolescents who have experienced trauma, visiting a health center can be uncomfortable, and even re-traumatizing. Providers have the potential to create health care experiences that are comforting and reassuring. The Trauma-Informed Care with Adolescent Patients Timely Topics module provides a brief outline of the impacts of trauma on adolescents and shares strategies for practicing trauma-responsive care in a primary care setting.
Suicide Prevention in Primary Care
CONTENT WARNING: This module discusses suicide and mental illness. Some of the content may be emotional and challenging to engage with, depending on your personal experiences.
As suicide remains one of the leading causes of death for adolescents, and barriers to accessing mental health care remain high, primary care providers often become the entry point of mental health care for these patients. These trends highlight a need for primary care providers to be trained in identifying, treating, and managing depression and suicidal ideation among youth. To support providers’ learning on these topics, AHI is piloting its new Adolescent Suicide Prevention in Primary Care Timely Topics module. This resource provides evidence-based guidance on these topics and strategies that can be implemented in a primary care setting.
Adolescent Sexual Health for Behavioral Health Clinicians
CONTENT WARNING: This module broadly discusses trauma and sexual violence. Depending on your personal experience, some of the content may be emotional and challenging.
Youth-friendly sexual and mental health care are two of adolescents’ biggest priorities in their overall health care. AHI’s youth council members report feeling like their therapists often aren’t comfortable talking about sexual health, including relationships, sexuality, and gender identity. Behavioral health providers have the opportunity to set an affirming, supportive atmosphere for adolescents to discuss these topics in a safe, confidential space. Timely Topics: Adolescent Sexual Health for Behavioral Health Clinicians was developed in partnership with AHI’s Teen Advisory Council and clinicians, and it is intended to assist behavioral health care providers in navigating strengths-based, youth-friendly sexual health-related conversations with adolescent and young adult clients.
Brief trainings for your multidisciplinary team
Sparks are designed for providers or staff to deliver in 15-30 minutes at staff meetings or professional development opportunities. These trainings will “spark” discussion and reflection among your multidisciplinary team. All sparks include a PowerPoint presentation, a facilitator outline and follow-up materials.
Being Youth-Friendly (For Behavioral Health Providers)
Identify key staff and provider behaviors essential to providing youth-friendly care with your team.
Cultural Responsiveness
Identify and discuss key concepts about providing culturally responsive health care to young people and reflect on various cultural norms unique to adolescence.
Being an Askable Adult
Discuss strategies adults can use to help youth feel comfortable asking for support and refer them to services like health care or mental health.
Confidentiality Best Practices - For Behavioral Health Providers
Explore best practices for providing confidential care to adolescents in a behavioral health setting.
Consent & Confidentiality Laws - For Behavioral Health
Deepen your understanding of confidentiality and consent laws as they relate to behavioral health.
Principles of Trauma-Informed Care for Adolescent Patients
Deepen your understanding of how trauma impacts adolescent patients and how to create trauma-informed spaces to support their health and well-being.
Starter Guides
Dr. Jeffrey P. Winer, an attending psychologist within the Trauma and Community Resilience Center at Boston Children’s Hospital and an instructor of Psychology at Harvard Medical School lead this plenary address, "Mental Health Practice with Immigrant and Refugee Youth," at the 2021 Conference on Adolescent Health.
Dr. Polly Gipson, PhD, presented this keynote address virtually at AHI’s 2020 Connection Session on adolescent-centered, trauma-informed care in clinical settings.
Strategies from the Field: Three 15-minute Talks on adolescent-centered, trauma-informed care from AHI’s 2020 Connection Session.
Additional Resources
We Can Help
Are you looking to improve your practices in the care of your adolescent patients?
