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- Subject Code : SWTP317
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- Subject Name : Social Work
Mental Health in Social Work Practice
Introduction to Mental Health: Youth Suicide
Mental health problems have been identified to be a significant problem in 1 in 10 young people (Kinchin, 2018). Mental health problems have been a cause of the problems in the youth, as they experience depression, anxiety and even face the conduct disorder, which can be a direct response as they are not able to relate to what is happening in their lives (Story, 2016). The problem can be majorly being found in the 70% of children along with the young people that can experience the mental health problem and also they are experiencing the interventions during the sufficiently early age (Vendetti, 2018).
Role of Social Work Practice in Mental health
Social work practice within mental health has been identified to be one of the crucial practices, as the role of the clinical social workers is to diagnose and then treat the health conditions. The role of the social worker is to work collaboratively over the mental issues of the youth and for this, they have to choose the adopted strategy like providing support to the family, engaging in the couple’s therapy, and also to work progressively over the depression stages. As the youth experiences a series of problems such as anxiety, family problems, or even face mental health or behavioral issues, it is important to work progressively over such issues (Kinchin, 2018). Youth suicides have been one of the major concerns for any country, as globally youth suicides main reasons are the unemployment (23%), stress-related to families (33%), love affair/marriage problems (17%), stress problems (5%), unidentified reasons (10%) (Horowitz 2020. Statistically, suicides are rising among the youths (33%) in comparison to the elderly suicides (20%) or the youngsters committing suicides (10%) (Ruch, 2019). The role of the social worker is to take care of the emotional wellbeing of youths and understand their mental and emotional experiences, due to which the youth suicides are at large. For the social workers, the good sound mental health can allow the children and young people to inculcate the resilience that can make them cope with whatever life throws and makes them grow into well-rounded, healthy adults (McKean, 2018).
Literature for Mental Health: Youth Suicide
Youth’s development is different from the adults and the children and the increasing risk of the high suicidal feelings and the behavior are more related to the changing environment and the pressures. The younger youth have shown the higher suicidal behaviors. Horowitz (2020) has mentioned that the youths also have shown an impulsive behavior, taking the irrational decisions, and also face the peer/family pressure to perform. Suicidal behavior within adolescents occurs due to reasons like depression, taking pleasure in self-harm, family problems, and also experiencing Generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) and Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) problems. Such reasons are predominantly found within the youths. Grossman (2018) asserts that the depression and self-harm are the most common problem, as youths are unable to manage their emotions and experience the high turmoil, stress leading to high intense emotional pain. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has also been found within the youth's as the most common problem, as they tend to worry about the changing work environment or anything. Godoy Garraza (2019) has pointed out that the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the reasons, the youth has experienced physical or sexual abuse, experiencing something very disturbing, and being the victim of bullying or any traumatic event. For example, youths have shown suicidal behavior due to the family conflict, any other predominant reasons for strivings for autonomy, and also experiencing the problems in the academic and disciplinary difficulties. Suicide is the leading third cause within the age group of 15-25 years and the more youths die from suicide, then from cancer, heart disease, due to AIDS, stroke, or due to any other reasons such as lung disease, etc. Gluckman (2017) has mentioned that the suicide is the prime reason to face the problem predominantly and nearly one million people die due to suicide each year. The mental health and the wellbeing of the youths have been understood as the despair to kill themselves and facing the mental problems as the despair, depression, even facing the irritability, agitation, along with the sheer hopelessness. Barker (2017) has mentioned that the genetic factors play a vital role in observing the psychiatric illness and the use of neurotransmitters like serotonin, norepinephrine and even through the use of dopamine can help to identify the volatility, impetuousness, and the personal state of mind such as feeling violent, being moody or explosive temperaments can be one of the potential reasons of self-murder.
Solution of Mental Health: Youth Suicide
By adopting effective communication and engaging in counseling, it would be helpful to understand the reasons and deter the cause of suicide. The counselors or the social workers know the mental health and state of the youth, to provide them efficient solutions and deter the reasons for the problems (Abrutyn, 2020). The other remedial measure is to understand the mental state of the person and to provide an adequate solution to it. The counselors and the social workers by questioning and understanding the mental health of the person can provide medication and therapy measures that can treat the patient adequately. The social workers also involve family, friends, and the other close ones to provide quick assistance and care to the patients. Lastly, to provide extensive care, love, and support from the families, friends and the various other people can help to overcome the pain.
Conclusion on Mental Health: Youth Suicide
To conclude, youth suicides has been a leading issue globally, with the rising cases reported every year. The role of the social worker is to access, understand, and identify the main reasons for the suicides so that they could provide remedial measures to the solution. The suicide reasons can be personally or professionally depending on the problems and it is important to identify the remedial solution, such as medication, therapies, or effective practices that can overcome the problem.
References for Mental Health: Youth Suicide
Abrutyn, S., Mueller, A. S., & Osborne, M. (2020). Rekeying cultural scripts for youth suicide: How social networks facilitate suicide diffusion and suicide clusters following exposure to suicide. Society and mental health, 10(2), 112-135.
Barker, B., Goodman, A., & DeBeck, K. (2017). Reclaiming Indigenous identities: Culture as strength against suicide among Indigenous youth in Canada. Canadian journal of public health, 108(2), e208-e210.
Gluckman, P. D., & FRS, O. K. F. F. (2017). Youth suicide: A discussion paper. Office of the Prime Minister's Chief Science Advisor.
Godoy Garraza, L., Kuiper, N., Goldston, D., McKeon, R., & Walrath, C. (2019). Long‐term impact of the Garrett Lee Smith Youth Suicide Prevention Program on youth suicide mortality, 2006–2015. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, 60(10), 1142-1147.
Grossman, D. C. (2018). Reducing youth suicide risk: evidence for opportunities. Pediatrics, 141(3).
Guerra, S. G., & Vasiliadis, H. M. (2016). Gender differences in youth suicide and healthcare service use. Crisis.
Horowitz, L. & Tipton, M. V. (2020). Primary and secondary prevention of youth suicide. Pediatrics, 145(Supplement 2), S195-S203.
Kinchin, I., & Doran, C. M. (2018). The cost of youth suicide in Australia. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(4), 672.
McKean, A. J., Pabbati, C. P., Geske, J. R., & Bostwick, J. M. (2018). Rethinking lethality in youth suicide attempts: first suicide attempt outcomes in youth ages 10 to 24. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 57(10), 786-791.
Ruch, D. A., Sheftall, A. H., Schlagbaum, P., Rausch, J., Campo, J. V. & Bridge, J. A. (2019). Trends in suicide among youth aged 10 to 19 years in the United States, 1975 to 2016. JAMA network open, 2(5), e193886-e193886.
Story, C. R., Kirkwood, A. D., Parker, S., & Weller, B. E. (2016). Evaluation of the better todays/better tomorrows youth suicide prevention program: increasing mental health literacy in rural communities. Best Practices in Mental Health, 12(1), 14-25.
Story, C. R., Kirkwood, A. D., Parker, S. & Weller, B. E. (2016). Evaluation of the Better Todays/Better Tomorrows youth suicide prevention program: increasing mental health literacy in rural communities. Best Practices in Mental Health, 12(1), 14-25.
Vendetti, T., & Hill, J. (2018). Linking public schools and community mental health services: A model for youth suicide prevention. Rhode Island Medical Journal, 101(4), 36-38.
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