Wake Up Well: Back to school mental health resources for teenagers

Paris Alston: This is GBH’s Morning Edition. It’s the first Wednesday of the month, which means it’s time for another edition of our monthly mental health series, Wake Up Well. As area students head back to school, we are discussing their mental health. And joining us to do that is Craig Aarons-Martin, CEO of the education consulting agency CCM education Group. Craig, thanks so much for being here.

Craig Aarons-Martin: Thank you, Paris, for inviting me.

Alston: So what are some common themes that come up for students this time of year?

Aarons-Martin: Students are one, just like, oh, we’re going back. You know?

Alston: Summer’s over.

Aarons-Martin: Oh my gosh, I can’t sleep until midday, you know, anymore. And so at this stage, young people are managing their own anxieties around friends. Some are thinking about jobs, college. Young people are also just still continuing to navigate all of the things that come up with social media.

Alston: So we did want to make sure that local students were part of this conversation, and we have some questions from them. Here’s the first one.

Ella Verinder: Hi, my name is Ella Verinder. I’m 17 and I am a senior at Boston Latin Academy. And a question I have going back to school this year is how schools can make mental health resources more accessible beyond, just like the stress management that I feel like we’re seeing a lot now.

Aarons-Martin: There’s so many resources that are available, but I can understand for youth, they may not know that they exist. The YMCA has offerings. Boys and Girls Club, Roxbury Youth Works. For queer youth, BAGLY, Boston Public Health Department has a lot of entities that work in partnership with some of the community organizations I’ve named, and I think that it offers an opportunity for us, the adults, to make sure that students know what’s present for them.

Alston: All right. Our next question. Here we go.

Noor Bouanani: My name is Noor Bouanani and I’m 16 years old, going to the 11th grade at Winthrop High School. And my question is, what support systems do you have in place when you are struggling with your mental health?

Aarons-Martin: One of the first things that I think about is actually from a partner who I worked with for a number of years, Ivy Child International. They specialize in mindfulness within your body, within your spirit. No matter what else is going on, you can ground yourself, center yourself, and have tools that can help you to navigate that.

Alston: Now we know, as we mentioned earlier, many of them are turning to social media, probably TikTok first and foremost. And we have a question that is related to that.

Manny Baez: My name is Manny, I’m 16, going into 11th grade. And my question is: How does social media impact your mental health and what strategies can help mitigate any negatives of that?

Aarons-Martin: So as someone who, you know, I scroll on the IG and the TikTok as well, I understand it’s tough. Try to get really good at who you are, what you like about yourself. Have your vision board that continues to remind you of who you are, also who you’re centered around, and making sure that you are in places that you feel affirmed and loved. While it can feel very tense to be in a social media environment where you’re constantly trying to figure out whether or not you measure up or not, there are also positive folks out there who are doing some incredible work, telling their own story in their own way. And it doesn’t matter how many followers or likes you have, it really comes down to, are you actually at the core, centered and clear? And as you continue to evolve, give yourself permission and grace to grow.

Alston: How can parents or other adults support young people as they’re making this transition back to school?

Aarons-Martin: Quality time has been important. Breakfast on Saturday, community service somewhere. Making sure you build in time where it’s about us as a hub. And then maybe leaving a little post-it note just that says, hey, I love you, I see you. So even if you can’t physically always be present, they will appreciate just knowing that that little artifact is something I could take with me that holds me dear.

Alston: So before we let you go, Craig, we’ve been asking everyone we have on as part of the series to leave us with an affirmation related to the topic. What’s yours?

Aarons-Martin: Be a rough draft of yourself until you get to being the piece of art that you love and adore.

Alston: I love that. Very appropriate for a new school year. Lots of rough drafts are going to be created in the months ahead. Well, that is Craig Aarons-Martin, CEO of CCM Education Group. Craig, thank you so much.

Aarons-Martin: Thank you Paris.

Alston: And you can find a list of mental health resources at GBH news.org/wakeupwell, and if you want to chime in on this topic, you can text us at (617) 300-2008 or email [email protected]. You’re listening to GBH news.