Being a senior in high school is a pivotal time for many students as they are faced with many decisions about their future, such as starting work or attending a college, joining the military, picking a trade school, taking a gap year, etc. Not to mention that many students are restless about setting plans for their “best summer yet” before their lives take a big turn towards young adulthood. These life choices can be hard and stressful for students, especially when facing financial constraints or lack of support at home. Many seniors don’t know how or if they will achieve their next goal, which can bring a lot of anxiety and concerns on top of whatever they are already dealing with at home and school. In the last year, our outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic psychologists provided important life-changing services and were able to help nine senior students during this difficult transition time. These teens were experiencing depression, anxiety, trauma, difficulties with adjustment to life events and/or attention problems that were negatively impacting their academic lives and behaviors. We are proud to announce that all nine seniors our psychologists worked with graduated from high school.
The mental health crisis continues to be prevalent in our country, especially among youth who are heavily influenced by social media and exterior factors they are still learning to recognize and cope with.
“The past few years have been rough for teens,” said Dr. Diane Kelly Andreou, Director of Boys Town South Florida’s Outpatient Behavioral Health Clinic. “The challenges of adapting to life during a pandemic and then back to school with a ‘new normal’ mindset are apparent for many. It was a privilege to support one overwhelmed teen with significant anxiety and medical concerns; it was difficult for her to say the word ‘college’ in August. By May, she was thriving on her accomplishments, using skills to manage medical and life circumstances and looking forward to starting the next phase of her life.”
Our Boys Town South Florida experts continue to provide youth and families with the support and guidance they need to help them succeed. In addition to our clinic, Boys Town also offers a national hotline with immediate response to calls, texts and emails. Last year, out of 3,372 contacts to the Boys Town National Hotline® from Florida, 1,737 were from South Florida. About 19% of those who called were under 18 years of age, and the second largest age group was 24-29 (or 20.1%). From all the contacts received by the Hotline, 229 calls were related to suicide with two suicides in progress that were stopped by our trained Crisis Counselors.
September is Suicide Prevention Month, so remember to reach out if you are feeling overwhelmed. You are not alone, and support is available. We at Boys Town can help. If you want to make an appointment or have questions about our Behavioral Health Clinic, please call 561-612-6056. You can also visit our website at Behavioral Health | Boys Town South Florida, where you can see all the diverse areas our Boys Town South Florida psychologists treat.
Our Boys Town National Hotline number is 800-448-3000, and anyone can text VOICE to 20121 to get help – both are available 24/7/365.
You can also download our new FREE app. Go to the AppStore and Search YLYV. Check it out today!