Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Comprehensive Approaches Using Technology to Address Mental Health

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Book cover Technology and Adolescent Mental Health

Abstract

Positive mental health for adolescents is a critical building block for their current and future well-being. More mental health burden can lead to poor outcomes which can have lifelong consequences including attempted or completed suicide. Supporting adolescents in recognizing, accepting, and getting help for mental health issues is paramount in reducing the likelihood of poor outcomes. Adolescents, however, are developmentally and emotionally different than adults and therefore need interventions and supports that are targeted to their needs. The uptake of technology by adolescents is significant. Using technology as one approach to engage adolescents and provide them with supports that educate on mental health, reduces mental health stigma, and promotes help seeking is one option. The goal of this chapter is to provide clinicians with information and strategies on how to access and incorporate approaches that support positive adolescent mental health into their clinical practice.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 99.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 129.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Burns J, Birrell E. Enhancing early engagement with mental health services by young people. Psychol Res Behav Manag. 2014;7:303–12.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Eisenberg D, Downs MF, Golberstein E, Zivin K. Stigma and help seeking for mental health among college students. Med Care Res Rev. 2009;66(5):522–41.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Hunt J, Eisenberg D. Mental health problems and help-seeking behavior among college students. J Adolesc Health. 2010;46(1):3–10.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Nam SK, Choi SI, Lee JH, Lee MK, Kim AR, Lee SM. Psychological factors in college students’ attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help: A meta-analysis. Prof Psychol Res Pract. 2013;44(1):37–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Yap MBH, Reavley NJ, Jorm AF. Associations between stigma and help-seeking intentions and beliefs: Findings from an Australian national survey of young people. Psychiatry Res. 2013;210(3):1154–60.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Yap MBH, Wright A, Jorm AF. The influence of stigma on young people’s help-seeking intentions and beliefs about the helpfulness of various sources of help. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2011;46(12):1257–65.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Yap MBH, Reavley N, Jorm AF. Where would young people seek help for mental disorders and what stops them? Findings from an Australian national survey. J Affect Disord. 2013;147(1–3):255–61.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Moreno MA, Jelenchick LA, Kota R. Exploring depression symptom references on facebook among college freshmen: a mixed methods approach. Open J Depress. 2013;2(3):35–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Cash SJ, Bridge JA. Meeting them where they are: An exploration of technology use and help seeking behaviors among adolescents and young adults. San Francisco: American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Keyes S, Cash S. ReachOut.com March 2012 User Survey. Inspire USA Foundation; 2012.

  11. Duggan M. Mobile Messaging and Social Media 2015 [Internet]. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. 2015 [cited 2017 Mar 10]. http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/19/mobile-messaging-and-social-media-2015/

  12. Lenhart A. Teens, Social Media & Technology Overview 2015 [Internet]. Pew Research Center: Internet, Science & Tech. 2015 [cited 2017 Mar 10]. http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/04/09/teens-social-media-technology-2015/

  13. Our story | About ReachOut Australia [Internet] [cited 2017 Mar 9]. http://about.au.reachout.com/us/story/

  14. What we do | About ReachOut Australia [Internet] [cited 2017 Mar 9]. http://about.au.reachout.com/what-we-do/

  15. Collin PJ, Metcalf AT, Stephens-Reicher JC, Blanchard ME, Herrman HE, Rahilly K, et al. ReachOut.com: The role of an online service for promoting help-seeking in young people. Adv. Ment Health. 2011;10(1):39–51.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Kessler, R.C., Andrews, G., Colpe, LJ, Hiripi, E.Short screening scales to monitor population prevalences and trends in non-specific psychological distress. Psychological Medicine. 2002;32(6):959–76.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Metcalf AT, Ivancic L, Blake V, Buhagiar K, Wilson C, Kauer S, et al. ReachOut.com Cohort study: a prospective follow-up study examining the role of online initiatives in promoting mental health literacy and early help-seeking. Montreal: International Association for Youth Mental Health; 2016.

  18. Center for Native American Youth. Drawing strength from our cultures: State of Native Youth 2016. In: State of Native Youth Report 2016. The Aspen Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Bureau USC. American FactFinder - Results [Internet] [cited 2017 Mar 11]. https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_10_1YR_S0201&prodType=table

  20. Evans-Campbell T. Historical trauma in American Indian/Native Alaska communities. J Interpers Violence. 2008;23(3):316–38.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. High school youth risk behavioral survey data results [Internet]. 2011. http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/youthonline/App/Default.aspx

  22. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Suicide 2015 [Internet]. 2015. www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/suicide-datasheet-a.pdf

  23. Hansen-Mitchell D. Preventing native youth suicide: #WeNeedYouHere Campaign Spreads Love and Help. Verona: Indian Country Media Network.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Craig Rushing S, Stephens D. Use of media technologies by Native American teens and young adults in the Pacific Northwest: exploring their utility for designing culturally appropriate technology-based health interventions. J Prim Prev. 2011;32(3):135–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Rushing S. Using technology to promote health and wellbeing among American Indian and Alaska Native teens and young adults. In: Dyson L, Grant S, Hendriks M, editors. Indigenous people and mobile technologies. New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Bryant C, McCormack Brown KR, McDermott RJ. Community-Based Prevention Marketing: Organizing a Community for Health Behavior Intervention. Health Promot Pract. 2007;8(2):154–63.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. beyondblue. Who we are and what we do [Internet] [cited 2017 Mar 10]. https://www.beyondblue.org.au/about-us/who-we-are-and-what-we-do

  28. beyondblue. Home [Internet] [cited 2017 Mar 10]. https://www.youthbeyondblue.com

  29. Dix KL, Slee PT, Lawson MJ, Keeves JP. Implementation quality of whole-school mental health promotion and students’ academic performance. Child Adolesc Ment Health. 2012;17(1):45–51.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  30. MindMatters. MindMatters Live Stats [Internet]. MindMatters Live Stats [cited 2017 Jun 28]. https://www.mindmatters.edu.au/about-mindmatters/live-stats

Download references

Acknowledgment

We R Native is supported, in part, with funds from the Indian Health Service and the Secretary’s Minority AIDS Initiative Fund.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Scottye J. Cash M.S.S.W., Ph.D.

  2. Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board, Portland, OR, USA

    Stephanie Craig Rushing Ph.D., M.P.H. & David Stephens B.S.N., R.N.N., R.N.

Authors
  1. Scottye J. Cash M.S.S.W., Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Stephanie Craig Rushing Ph.D., M.P.H.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David Stephens B.S.N., R.N.N., R.N.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Scottye J. Cash M.S.S.W., Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    Megan A. Moreno

  2. Department of Pediatrics, University of Pittsburgh Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

    Ana Radovic

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Cash, S.J., Rushing, S.C., Stephens, D. (2018). Comprehensive Approaches Using Technology to Address Mental Health. In: Moreno, M., Radovic, A. (eds) Technology and Adolescent Mental Health . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69638-6_19

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69638-6_19

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-69637-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-69638-6

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation