How Can We Help Our Young People?

If I asked you, what is wrong with this plant? What would your first answers be?

It is unlikely you would tell me it was a problematic plant. That it was defective or had some genetic condition.

We can see that the plant needs something.

If a person is wilted, like that plant, we often see a different problem. We see it as a problem within them.

The medical model has such power in our culture. We are encouraged to find the right label (the diagnosis) and then start the solution (medication, therapy). Of course, there is an essential and important role for the medical model, but it is only part of the picture.

Our young people are struggling more than ever before. The mental health of young Australians is rapidly declining, and the evidence for this is increasingly solid, and represents a worldwide trend.

The recent National Study of Mental Health and Wellbeing revealed that the prevalence of operationally defined mental disorders in 16-24 year olds rose by 50%, from 26% in 2007 to 39% in 2021. There was a greater rise in young women compared to young men, with rates reaching 48%.

How can this be explained solely from a biological perspective? The world and environment that our young people are growing up in today is vastly different from past generations. It’s impossible to explain this trend without acknowledging and exploring context. I have been working with young people in therapy for over 10 years now, and have found a treatment approach that understands and addresses context to be invaluable.

DNA-V is a therapeutic approach designed for young people, developed by Louise Hayes and Joseph Ciarrochi. It is evidence-based and theoretically robust, integrating Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), positive psychology, evolutionary adaptation and is underpinned by contextual behaviour science. All that of means – it is an approach that stacks up scientifically and draws on tonnes of research.

It is designed to help people cope with challenges, stress and change. It aims to promote psychological strength and flexibility.

Importantly, it acknowledges the unique context of each young person:

·      Their physical environment (school, community)

·      Their relationships (socially and with their self)

·      Psychological and learning factors (their inner world, experiences and history)

·      Biological factors

Then comes the work – taking the young person through the different parts of themselves and their context and upskilling them.

Ultimately it comes down to building flexible strength. The young person is then able to persist with important things in their life that they care about and to change the behaviour that’s making their life worse.

To give you a quick peek into these parts and what they involve:

Discoverer (D) – trial and error behaviour that functions to expand and build skills, resources, and social networks.

Noticer (N) – behaviour that functions to increase the awareness of experience, both inside and outside your body.

Advisor (N) – refers to verbal behaviour that functions to save people from the need for trial-and-error learning so they can navigate efficiently and safely through the world.

Value & Vitality (V) – Our motivators. We all seek purpose, meaning, fun and connection.

Social Strength – Looking at our DNA-V (above) in the context of social connection.

Self-Strength – Looking at how we use our DNA-V to build our self-image (e.g. I am anxious – vs – I am a woman, and anxiety is one part of me).

We then work to develop people’s skilled use of D, N, and A, and improve their ability to flexibly shift behaviours, depending on what they value and what the situation permits and demands.

Adolescence is an incredibly turbulent, challenging and significant time. To nurture the human potential inside each of our young people, we need to invest in their mental wealth.

We owe it to our young people to do all we can to equip them with the skills to arrive in adulthood as resilient, connected, aware and productive members of society.

If you think this approach could help a young person you know, check out https://dnav.international, or get in touch with me.