I really hope that no school gives this group what they are looking for. They’re a voluntary group; what kind of qualifications would these people have?

The article mentions “loved ones”. Are they seriously suggesting that volunteers could come into a school and instruct the children to go home and watch their parents and siblings for signs of mental illness? Seriously? Depression is classified as a mental illness. If you read the list of symptoms you’ll see they’re so vague that such a move would mean an awful lot of worried young people.

Where did the statistic “depression affects one in four” come from? I’m sceptical.

I’m sure these people mean well, and maybe they do good work through their support service. But touting for business (even it’s not profit making business) through the education system should not be allowed.

The mind boggles, as a sufferer of depression and as someone who knows a lot of people who suffer similarly I’d add that you haven’t a clue what you’re talking about.

Martin as a bi polar sufferer I agree with you. The reason we have such a large suicide problem is because of attitudes like this. Many in the country talk about injustices being carried out by the government. The attitude towards mental health in this country as displayed above proves the ignorance of people when it comes to mental health issues.

Would you believe that I was daignosed with depression? And that I’m a teacher. It is my own experience and a lot of reading that inform my opinion.
There is a glut of mental health interest groups that aim to infiltrate our education system. Their motives are almost universally benign and their aims laudable ie. to relieve suffering and educate the public. But we need to be very, very careful when we open up our classrooms to such voluntary groups.
Children are not “the public”. They are highly impressionable and prone to misunderstanding. They are not mature enought to critically assess what an outside speaker may tell them.
The whole area of mental health (and psychology itself) is a relatively young science. Today’s fact is often tomorrow’s unproven hypothesis. What seems like education may be closer to indoctrination, however well-meant.

I cannot believe that anyone who was sympathetic to the cause of mental health awareness would use the evocative language you are using. Infiltrate? Wtf?

okay, maybe “infiltrate” wasn’t the word i was looking for. it’s probably fairer to say they seek to use schools as a platform to spread their message. i think it’s an inapproriate platform

I think it’s the most appropriate forum. If we want to dispel the myths about mental illness and prevent suicides then we need to persuade young people that talking about their problems is essential.

Jone Kelleher, I completely agree with your point of view, very impressionable minds shouldn’t be burdened with this information and resulting responsibility that follows from this.
Time would be better spent convincing the Government to increase funding, support services and provide better resources in the Mental Health area.

Hi Norah,
I suppose I’m referring to neither small children nor young adults but teenagers, who stand somewhere in between. Certainly most students can understand content, whether delivered by the teacher or an outside speaker, and a few of them are quite advanced in their critical faculties. But a significant minority are extremely prone to taking things up the wrong way.I used “children” deliberately as teenagers can come across as articulate and clued-in but at the same time be quite vulnerable to suggestion.
It might be more approriate to raise awareness among staff members and parents rather than students themselves.
best wishes

Amanda thanks for your comments, you’re right the symptoms of depression can be very general much as depression is an umbrella term which covers many types of depressive illness.

I appreciate you’ve probably read the article and made comment, if I might suggest, please check out the website, you’ll find that we’re not just about ‘someone having a bad week’.

best to you
Norah Bohan