Author Tina Yutong Li is a member of Orygen's Youth Advisory Council
Today marks the beginning of National Youth Week, a week for the celebration of young people in Australia. It is a week of fun-filled activities, infused with a touch of seriousness and a note of empowerment. It is the week of having conversations on topics important to young people, one of which is youth mental health advocacy.
For the past decade, the World Health Organisation has listed advocacy as one of the most crucial components in any mental health framework (WHO, 2013). This is for the purpose of mental health promotion and prevention, ensuring respect of the fundamental human rights of all persons and encouraging positive mental health outcomes at a population level.
With more than a quarter of young people in Australia having experienced a mental health condition in previous 12 months (Beyondblue, 2016), concerns about mental health amongst young people are growing. The 2015 Mission Australia’s Annual Youth Report revealed young people consider mental health as one of the top six most important issues in Australia today, with 15% of all respondents identifying it as the most important issue, up from 10.7% in 2011. Although it is evident that young people have very high mental health awareness, the benefits of awareness on its own are only marginal. In the context of improving youth mental health in Australia, it is imperative we transform passive awareness into active advocacy.
Too often, we associate advocacy solely with raising awareness through media and organised events. Sometimes, we desperately want to speak out about youth mental health, but we fear that we are not ‘educated enough’ on the subject matter to do so. Other times, our concerns about not knowing the ‘appropriate’ channels of advocacy and how to do advocacy ‘properly’ stop us mid-stride and prevent us from speaking out. However, we must understand that all these fears are unfounded, and that every individual can be a positive youth mental health advocate.
Whilst the most commonly seen and publically visible forms of advocacy are via media and organised events, advocacy comes in many forms. Advocacy ranges from speaking in the media, partaking in various outreach projects, to engaging community members in relevant conversations. In youth mental health, some specific examples include contributing to campaigns such as ABC’s ‘Mental As’, participating in the headspace Youth Reference Groups, contacting Members of Parliament with youth mental health-related concerns and asking others the question of ‘R U OK.’ The avenues for youth mental health advocacy are infinite and they are unified in their core purpose of building an inclusive and non-discriminatory culture, where young people feel connected and supported regardless of their personal circumstances.
Furthermore, advocacy is about inspiring action at the individual, community and societal level. At the level of the individual, youth mental health advocacy includes positive self-care and self-advocacy within the youth mental health system. At a community level, youth mental health advocacy is about facilitating open discussions, positive role-modelling and promoting appropriate service access to meet the needs of young people as they journey through recovery. And finally, at a societal level, advocacy refers to policies and systems advocacy (UNICEF 2016).
In youth mental health, some examples of this are developing new policies and practice for services, improving upon existing policies and pushing for increased funding for translational research to better inform mental health treatment guidelines and service delivery. It is also through creating greater vocational and educational opportunities for young people, such as via the Individual Placement Support model (Orygen, 2014) and improving youth mental health literacy through the provision of positive education frameworks. Ultimately, it is important to recognise that at the heart of youth mental health advocacy lies the notion of respecting and protecting the rights of all young people.
Improving upon the Australian youth mental health system is challenging and takes time. However, we can be encouraged by the positive progress that has been made in this area. An example is that the yourtown (previously BoysTown) 2015 Annual Report revealed a 27.8% increase in direct contact with Kids Helpline and a 98% increase in number of young people seeking online self-help information last year compared to 2012. So in light of National Youth Week 2016, let us pause and take a moment to reflect upon the immense amount of work that has been happening in the youth mental health space. Perhaps, this can act as a conversation starter for you to discuss the topic of youth mental health with your family and friends. Or perhaps, this can serve as a reminder that your voice matters and encourage you to join in on the advocacy efforts for issues important to young people, especially in the area of youth mental health.
References
R U OK. (2016) Retrieved from https://www.ruok.org.au/
Annual Report - Yourtown. (2015) (1st ed.). Australia.
Annual Youth Report - Mission Australia. (2015) (1st ed.). Australia.
Contacting Senators and Members – Parliament of Australia. (2016). Aph.gov.au. Retrieved from http://www.aph.gov.au/senators_and_members/guidelines_for_contacting_senators_and_members
Youth Beyondblue Stats and Facts. (2016) Beyondblue. Retrieved from https://www.youthbeyondblue.com/footer/stats-and-facts
headspace National Youth Mental Health Foundation. (2016). Retrieved from http://headspace.org.au/
Mental As. (2016). ABC. Retrieved from http://www.abc.net.au/mentalas/
Tell them they're dreaming - Orygen. (2014) (1st ed., p. 57). Australia.
Types of Advocacy - UNICEF. (2016). Advocate for Children. Retrieved from http://www.advocate-for-children.org/advocacy/laying_a_conceptual_foundation/types_of_advocacy
WHO Mental Health Action Plan 2013-2020. (2013) (1st ed., pp. 12, 20, 35). Switzerland.