Article Excerpt: Youth mental health continues to be a pressing issue of our time. While the prevalence of youth experiencing mental health conditions has declined somewhat in recent years, the need remains significant. Data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrationopens in new window indicates that approximately 15% of adolescents (or 3.7 million youth, age 12–17) experienced a major depressive episode in 2025. Additionally, 10% of adolescents (2.6 million) had serious thoughts of suicide in the past year, 1.3 million had a plan, and over 700,000 attempted suicide. Crucially, not all who need treatment are receiving services. Of those adolescents who experienced a major depressive episode, only 58% received treatment.
Given the ongoing need, efforts are underway to develop innovative ways to proactively reach youth to support their mental health. Researchers at Dartmouth have been developing educational video games to promote health behaviorsopens in new window and foster teens’ mental health. PlaySmart is a digital, self-guided gameopens in new window that was codeveloped with teens to promote mental health and prevent opioid misuse. The game presents challenging scenarios based on teens’ real experiences. The player of the game is the main character in the story and navigates peer interactions and decision-making with the goal of strengthening emotional awareness, problem solving, and positive beliefs about support seeking.
Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/nhjd9c46
Article Source: American Psychological Association Services