This video answers many common questions that teens may have about mental health treatment. What is therapy? What kinds of therapy are available? How do I know if I need therapy? In the video, several adolescent therapists address these and other questions. Various teens with common issues such as depression, anxiety, eating disorders, substance abuse and bullying, speak on camera about their experiences with therapy. Provides viewers with guidelines for recognizing if they need intervention—signs like persistent negative feelings, realizing that your life is off track, experiencing a traumatic event such as the death of a loved one and worries that you might have a psychological disorder. Program also explores how to choose a therapist and what kind of therapist to choose. The video’s message is clear: seeking therapy is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of bravery and courage for those who choose to address issues that may be holding them back.
Includes:
video, plus teacher’s resource book, student handouts and pre/post tests in digital format
DVD includes Spanish subtitles
Reviews
Starred Review These DVDs introduce teens to the concept of good mental and emotional health. In Common Psychological Disorders of Adolescence, several real teens share their stories and struggles with five common mental health issues: anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders, ADHD, and substance abuse disorder. A teen host introduces the stories, indicating that “psychological disorders are just as real as medical disorders.” After each personal struggle is related, Dr. Deborah Gatins, an adolescent psychologist, talks about the disorder and its symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment in easily understood terms. An important part of her explanation includes the difference between having occasional symptoms of a psychological nature and actually having the disorder. The program concludes with Dr. Gatins encouraging viewers who think they may have a psychological problem to seek help. Who Needs Therapy? follows a similar format, with young people asking questions and receiving answers about how to determine if you have a psychological disorder and the type of treatment available. Again, teens speak about their experiences with therapy and are assured that seeking help is not a sign of weakness, but something that takes courage. Of special interest is a segment dealing with bullying. Both programs have an excellent, extensive teacher resource guide that contains a pre- and post-test, activities, and fact sheets. These productions can be used successfully in health or psychology classes and can be shared with parents by guidance counselors or school psychologists.(Reviewed with Common Psychological Disorders of Adolescence)
- Ann Brownson, Eastern Illinois University, Charleston
School Library Journal
Highly Recommended Who needs therapy? Everyone most likely does at some point in their lives, and this video program is designed to help young adults realize it’s not as unnatural as they may think. Using a standard program format that has proven very successful for Human Relations Media programs, there is a young, attractive, down-to-earth host that shepherds the viewer through the main topics. Young adults who have experienced therapy together with the wisdom and authority of expert clinical psychologists round out the bill.
Broken into nine chapters (all accessible individually from the DVD menu), Who Needs Therapy? provides a pretty complete introduction to the process – everything from negative feelings and just feeling off-track to experiencing stressful and traumatic events to exploring the myths associated with therapy and the importance of choosing the right therapist. Stated in the introduction, the goal of the program is to “provide accurate information about therapy.” Once again, Peter Cochran, Anson Schloat and the folks at Human Relations Media have succeeded in achieving their goal and doing it in a record 19 minutes.
The young people in the film who relate their experiences with therapy are genuine and believable. The clinical psychologists are accessible, knowledgeable and down-to-earth. The content material is expertly crafted, and that combined with the personalities in the film, make for a very non-threatening way to introduce the topic of therapy to young adults. The accompanying educator’s guide rounds out the package for high school and junior college teachers and counselors, and will be a fine addition to libraries in those institutions. The video will also be useful for libraries in higher education for teacher education, social work and curriculum libraries. Highly recommended.
- Lori Widzinski, Health Sciences Library, University at Buffalo, State University of New York
Educational Media Reviews Online (EMRO)