Adolescent Mental Health Initiative

The Mental Health Association of Lebanon County has purchased 16 sets of this book series to distribute to the Lebanon County libraries, and the libraries or guidance counselor offices of the High Schools in Lebanon County. In addition, one of the sets is also available at the MHA's lending library.

Please visit www.copecaredeal.org for additional resources.

The Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands' Adolescent Mental Health Initiative has three primary objectives:

• Understanding the origins, paths, prevention, and treatment of adolescent mood disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, alcohol and drug abuse, and suicide.
• Understanding how adolescent mental health disorders can be prevented, their recurrence reduced, and their effects blunted.
•  Developing effective means to communicate these insights to adolescents in need, their families, counselors, teachers, physicians, and friends

The project convened seven commissions of mental health experts to summarize existing knowledge about adolescent mental health, identify future research priorities, and produce a volume disseminating their findings. Published by Oxford University Press, Treating and Preventing Adolescent Mental Health Disorders: What We Know and What We Don't Know is a definitive guide for mental health practitioners on ways to enhance positive youth development as well as identify and treat adolescent depression, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and alcohol and drug abuse. In addition, this Sunnylands' initiative created a mental health website for teens and is developing 12 books - four for parents and eight for teens. The books are designed to help adolescents, parents, guidance counselors, and school health professionals deal with prevalent disorders.