Pickerington Area Taxpayers Alliance

TeenScreen ?— no evidence of workability

SO WHY IS PICKERINGTON DOING IT??????

TeenScreen officials admit that there have been no studies that show that their program reduces suicide. That is not surprising, because the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force report of May of 2004 states:

A. There is no evidence that screening for suicide risk reduces suicide attempts or mortality.

B. There is limited evidence on the accuracy of screening tools to identify suicide risk.

C. There is insufficient evidence that treatment of those at high risk reduces suicide attempts or mortality.

D. No studies were found that directly address the harms of screening and treatment for suicide risk.

TeenScreen has no proof that their survey reduces suicide rates. The co-director of TeenScreen Rob Caruano, says that suicides are so rare that you'd have to screen the whole country to see a difference in mortality between screened and unscreened students.

TeenScreen was established in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1997 . According to a 2003 Tulsa World newspaper article, Mike Brose, executive director of the Mental Health Association in Tulsa, stated: ''To the best of my knowledge, this is the highest number of youth suicides we've ever had during the school year -- a number we find very frightening.''

Psychiatrists are even coming forth saying TeenScreen is unworkable. Nathaniel Lehrman says: ''The claim by the director of Columbia University's TeenScreen Program that her program would significantly reduce suicides is unsupported by the data. Indeed, such screenings would probably cause more harm than good. It is impossible, on cursory examination, or on the basis of the Program's brief written screening test, to detect suicidality or ''mental illness,'' however we define it. ''

So much for the workability of TeenScreen.

http://www.psychsearch.net/teenscreen.html

Difficult Problems

Katelyn, I think there is much to what you say. Unfortunately, there is still social stigma associated with the problems that some young people experience. Their privacy thus needs to be protected. Misdiagnosis of emotional and psychological problems also happens, probably more often than we would like to admit. And the misprescription of psychological medications does occur, and can do kids a great deal of harm.

On the other hand, there certainly are kids that experience problems, often with the onset of puberty, that are far beyond the range of anything with which teachers and even parents are prepared to cope. These problems do sometimes lead to teen suicide or, short of that, to lifelong learning problems and problems of living and adjustment. Many people hope that if these problems are identified earlier in life, and in school, they will do less damage to the lives of our kids.

While no one has all the answers, and we all need to understand all the risks, we need to think about this. We need to find ways to reach out to kids who have these problems, without hurting them in the process. We need to put such kids in touch with people who can help them -- recognizing, of course, how little we really know about such problems, and how easy it is to make mistakes.

It is sometimes just too hard for educators to stand by and do nothing. I would ask you to consider the efforts that you describe in your postings in this light.

By Sympathetic Reader

First, Do No Harm

Dear Sympathetic Reader,

Obviously you care about what happens to the students and you have put some thought into this. I think that's good. My criticisms of TeenScreen don't mean I think we should do nothing about teens who are having problems. However, I think that doing the wrong thing is worse than doing nothing.

Don't get me wrong, I think the administrators who implemented TeenScreen, as well as the Social Worker charged with overseeing the program, have good intentions. But when no study can show that TeenScreen is effective, and there is at least one study showing it may do harm to students, it warrants scrutiny. Those facts, coupled with the knowledge that experts in the mental health field can't even define mental illness or mental health, especially for children whose inner lives are far from static, gives meaning to the phrase ''the road to hell is paved with good intentions''.

This is something that, for me, is too important to let slide. I have meetings scheduled with the principals of North and Central, and I have spoken with the Social Worker at length on the phone. The Social Worker is a very caring woman. I hope I come away from my meetings with the principals feeling the same about them. I am approaching these meetings with an open mind, because if there are facts/studies/professional opinions that are compelling, I am willing to change my mind. I just haven't found them.

Pursue Your Questions

I did not mean to suggest that you should not pursue your questions. Though hard questions, they are good, honest and reasonable ones. We can all learn from them.

Just bear in mind the reality of the emotional and psychological problems that so many young people face. The diagnostic categories may seem artificial, but the fear, anxiety, despair, shifting moods, racing thoughts, uncontrollable rage, inability to concentrate or to accept even the slightest imperfections in anything, hopelessness, self-hatred and so forth are real, and overwhelming. They typically come at a time, moreover, when personalities are most fragile.

If we could just find these kids, and let them know that we understand what they are experiencing, that there is no reason for them to feel ashamed or inadequate, that they are not alone, and that there are people who can help them, we could make a real difference.

By Sympathetic Reader