Tackling South Africa's Teen Mental Health Crisis

October commemorates Mental Health Awareness Month. In acknowledgement of this there is a recognition that South African teens are facing a mental health crisis.

Research by the Alan J Flisher Centre for Public Mental Health CPMH reveals alarming levels of depression and anxiety among adolescents in the Western Cape. Over 50 of 15- to 18-year-old adolescents experience elevated levels of depression symptoms, while more than 30 of adolescents aged between 10 and 14 are impacted.

Tackling this burden in a low-income setting is a challenge, but PhD candidates Mirriam Mkhize and Chesney Ward-Smith, both Sue Struengmann Fellows and based within the CPMH, have successfully tested interventions for depression and anxiety in low-income schools. This work offers a much-needed lifeline for these vulnerable age groups.

What we are teaching here are social and emotional skills that these adolescents can use throughout their lives to manage and cope with stressful situations in a productive and healthy way.

As part of her PhD research Mkhize adapted and tested a World Health Organization WHO intervention called Early Adolescent Skills for Emotions EASE in the Western Cape. Unlike most mental health interventions EASE was specifically developed for use in low-and-middle-income countries and is targeted at adolescents aged 10 to 14 years along with their caregivers.