Students could have information about their mental health disclosed to their teachers and parents under a drastic new plan to help teenagers dealing with depression.
In a bid to help students more effectively, NSW Health and the Department of Education will encourage the sharing of information between agencies on students with mental health issues, The Daily Telegraph reported.
The sharing will also be extended to parents, who will in some cases be invited to ‘case conferences’ alongside doctors, teachers and counsellors, where the teenager’s mental health will be discussed.
Students could have their mental health records shared with teachers and parents under a radical new plan to help teenagers struggling with mental health issues
Mental Health Minister Tanya Davies (pictured) said ‘early recognition’ and ‘early intervention’ is the best way to help teenagers struggling with their mental health
Just two years ago, the rate of suicide for young Australians aged 15-24 reached a 10-year high.
Findings in the Second Australian Child and Adolescent survey of Mental Health and Well-Being, released in 2015, revealed one in 10 teenagers had self-harmed, and one in 13 people aged 12-17 had contemplated suicide.
Mental Health Minister Tanya Davies told the Telegraph ‘early recognition’ and ‘early intervention’ is the best way to help teenagers struggling with their mental health.
‘The sharing of information between NSW Health and the Education Department ensures young people are kept safe and well,’ she said.
New laws were brought in in 2016, enhancing the power of Government agencies to exchange information under the Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act.
They now allow the transfer of information between a Government school or registered non-government school and medical practitioners or registered psychologists.
Consent of a child is not necessary for the information to be exchanged, but Dr Stephen Carbone, a clinical adviser for Beyondblue, told the Telegraph the permission of a student should be sought, as it could create trust issues.
He supported the idea of an information exchange though, noting: ‘There isn’t a school in NSW that doesn’t have students with mental illnesses’.
A survey released in 2015 showed one in 10 teenagers had self-harmed, and one in 13 people aged 12-17 had contemplated suicide