UVA helping parents assist teenagers and young adults with mental health

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - The University of Virginia is helping parents and caregivers better assist teenagers who are struggling with their mental health.

A conference today gave them a chance to address concerns while also supporting young adults who are currently struggling.

“It takes a village to help teenagers,” UVA Medical Director of Teen and Young Adult Health Center Susan Gray said.

UVA is putting the spotlight on teens and young adults' mental health.

“They’re enormously resourceful and resilient in managing those challenges, we want to deeply pathologize teens to get away from the negative stereotypes,” UVA Outreach Specialist of Teen and Young Adult Health Center Mary Sullivan said.

Helping your teen get on the right path can be tricky.

A starting point is hearing them out.

“There’s an idea that they’re not worth listening to with which we greatly disagree,” Sullivan said. “I think the ethos of our of our clinic, the teen and young adult health center at UVA, is to listen.”

Experts at the conference say phones and social media impact teenagers' lives negatively if not it is not monitored properly.

UVA medical director Susan Gray believes parents should learn from their teenagers.

“Let the teenager be the one to educate the adult on the kind of stresses that they’re feeling,” Gray said.

According to Gray, restricting phones can cause teenagers to find loopholes.

Instead, introducing limited time can create better habits.

“Figure out ways of limiting dangerous use and connecting with the real live people in their lives to use their phones in a more positive way,” Gray said.

All teens and young adults are different.

Gray says if the effort is made, you’re halfway there.

“Face-to-face presence is so important for their development; it only takes one caring adult to positively change a kid’s life.”

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