Break Free From Depression

By Russ Becker

Did you know that approximately 1 in 5 American adolescents experience depression before the age of 19? Or that of those experiencing depression only 40% will undergo some sort of treatment? The reality of the situation is that depression is a very real concern regarding the lives of our teens, and one that is not being addressed effectively. As a district, Medfield has worked vigilantly to inform students and help those in need through a variety of new curriculum and programs, and this past Thursday, Matt Merenghi and were trained on increasing our ability to do so. We both attended a training for a program is entitled “Break Free From Depression” with the aim of comparing it to our already existing curriculum. The program’s focus lies in increasing knowledge of depression for students while providing resources for those who need more immediate attention. The program provided a consistent message with much of the material that we had already been teaching, but going forward we will reassess our curriculum to examine if there is a better way to disseminate the information. The statistics prove that this is at the forefront of what our students are struggling with, and by attending this training we hope to continue meeting our students needs. Please contact me if you would like to know more about either this program or the existing curriculum surrounding the subject.