ADAPT Review

The ADAPT group’s project addresses a serious problem that is happening in today’s youth. As an individual that had dealt with depression in the past, I think that this is a great idea to have a sort of an online group therapy session for troubled teenagers. The teenage years are some of the most difficult years because their hormones start to kick in and they are transitioning from a child to an adult and take on more responsibilities. These reasons make teenagers unstable and prone to anger, depression, and anxiety. The chatroom gives teenagers with these problems a way to connect with each other and give each other advice and encouragement and to blow off some steam in the process. Being in the technological age that we are, where people would rather send a text than talk to each other on the phone, this is good way to integrate the way teenagers communicate to most with their everyday issues. This is also the type of therapeutic outlet that may be suggested by mental health professionals to coincide with any medication treatment that may be prescribed to treat the individual as a whole, rather than just giving medication to cure a problem such as depression.

Some concerns for me would be how to get teenagers to use the app because most people who have problems do not like to ask or accept help from people for various reasons. Some of these reasons could include that this type of interaction had not helped in the past, they may be embarrassed to talk about their issues, or they simply do not see their issues as playing a significant part in their moods. Another problem would be that if others, such as bullies and predators, were to access the site to threaten and harass those that really needed help. Obviously, these things are going to happen no matter how hard people may to eliminate them, but there are some steps that could be taken to ensure that these events are lessened. To limit these threats, have teenagers sign in with their school email addresses to keep track of them. Also, teenagers chatting with each other would not be enough to address their metal heath, in case a teen talks about suicide or homicidal things. It would be essential to have a professional have access to the chat as well, such as a school counselor or therapist. My final concern would be that teenagers would give each other negative tips, such as how not to eat or how to cause self-harm without anyone noticing. These behaviors should be closely monitored by administrators and professionals to deter this behavior while also giving positive advice.