U of A mental health pilot project proves successful with Red Deer students
A University of Alberta pilot program designed to promote mental health skills with Red Deer students has been found in a new study to significantly lessen cases of depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts.
The EMPATHY (Empowering a Multimodal Pathway Towards Healthy Youth) program ran in Red Deer Public Schools from 2013 to 2015 and was offered to more than 6,000 youth in grades six through 12.
The follow-up study was conducted 15 months after the program ended. It shows the number of students with suicidal thoughts dropped from 4.4 per cent to 2.8 per cent. Anxiety and depression among students also decreased along with the incidences of self-harm and drug and alcohol abuse.
“The world is more complicated and we see the kids struggling with mental health issues and it is presenting itself more often,” said Stu Henry, Superintendent – Red Deer Public Schools. “At the schools we were a little helpless to deal with that so this (EMPATHY) gave us a way to deal with that head on.”