GUEST BLOG BY Ella Kligman, Youth Advisory Board Member

The youth mental health crisis has gained significant investment and attention over the past few years, but outcomes haven’t seemed to improve. This isn’t the case for other diseases like cancer and heart disease. So why are mental health outcomes not improving despite investment, attention, and research?

I believe it is due to an overreliance on traditional care models. Conventional mental health care models fall short because they fail to meet the unique needs of young people. These models tend to focus on how to get youth out of an immediate crisis but don’t help with prevention and early intervention to stop youth from developing more severe mental illnesses. 

Re-thinking conventional care models to ensure they teach young people how to manage their mental health before it is in a crisis state. These models must be easily teachable so they can be applied at scale, to improve the mental health of millions of young people. 

What is Wellness?

Adding a wellness approach to conventional care models could help to improve the mental health of millions of young people. Unlike traditional models, wellness practices have a more holistic view of one's health, keeping in mind one’s physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

For young people, wellness practices such as mindfulness, emotional regulation, and stress management can provide numerous benefits. These approaches can help students build resilience, improve emotional intelligence, and manage daily stressors more effectively. By incorporating a wellness approach early into traditional care models, young people can lay a strong foundation for long-term mental health and well-being.

Wellness at Scale: The Policy Proposal

So, how can we provide these tools to young people early so they can manage their mental health before it reaches a crisis state?

After having numerous conversations with key policy stakeholders, gaining youth feedback, and reflecting on my own experience as a high school student, I propose implementing a unit on emotional regulation and mindfulness in high schools, starting first year. 

In California, the mental health curriculum lacks specific requirements, causing students to have a vague understanding of mental health that doesn’t go into the specifics on how to cultivate tools to manage their mental health. Tools like emotional regulation educational and mental health outcomes increase. Utilizing the policy framework already in California, including health classes and wellness coaches, ensures a smoother implementation process so students can get the help they need earlier. 

Integrating Wellness

Teaching mindfulness and other wellness practices can lead to better mental health outcomes, improved academic performance, and a more positive school environment.

Consider how adding a new unit to the mental health curriculum could affect teachers. To avoid implementation burdens, I propose including teacher training on wellness skills, utilizing high school health classes, and having wellness coaches teach the curriculum to students.

The youth mental health crisis will only improve if we reevaluate traditional care models. By teaching high school students essential wellness skills starting their first year, we can ensure they have the tools to manage their mental health and thrive as they move in to adulthood.