depression in young people

Last week saw a Mental Health Forum on Depression and Young People held in Emerald and organised by the Rotary clubs from Emerald, Monbulk and Belgrave. It was a compelling forum, well organised and thought provoking for people in the audience.

The panel were well informed and highlighted the good work going on to help young people get through depression despite the many barriers in place. Also well represented were our local secondary schools, Monbulk and Emerald, who’s Wellbeing Coordinators spoke with great empathy and care about the young people in the region.

Alarming to learn was the huge gap in mental health services in the public health system. Of even greater concern is the change to Secondary School support for students. In the past students were able to access on onsite psychologist, but under the new system, students must be registered through a centralised agency. This has created huge waiting lists and has serious consequences for young people seeking immediate help.

We know that between 8 and 17% of young people will experience a depressive illness.

It was staggering to learn about the lack of preventative measures in place to stop mental illness in the first place as clear indicators can be picked up at an early age. The speakers provided great perspectives on depression and mental health and the panel, facilitated by Dr Sally Coburn, included a practising clinical psychologist, youth worker from ECHO, young person who’d experienced depression for 4 years and a mother whose daughter had an eating disorder.

My congratulations go to Rotary for their ongoing commitment to working with our community and providing community members with useful resources to tackle youth depression.