Do you wish you had some sort of mental health related club at your school?

Pre-College Issues High School Life
1

I’m planning on starting a club for NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness) at my school and was wondering what sort of things you’d hope to get out of this sort of club if it was present at your school? It’s not like a support group or anything, but it’s more of a club aimed at reducing the stigma surrounding mental illness while also serving as a space for people to talk freely about mental health in general.

So what kind of things would you hope a club like this would be able to do for you and your school as a whole?

2

Honestly, I don’t think I would use the club even if I had mental health issues, because teenagers tend to be insecure about their issues and it is usually personal. I would not want to go out their and spill my entire life story to my peers, because people are nasty to other students. Honestly, I think you should do a general Health Club instead. Individually, I would promote the idea of seeking help for mental health issues from a professional. You would also have to think about people who would join the club. I would definitely ask friends if they would be interested, because you do not want to fill out the paperwork and then call it off. That’s just my opinion though.

3

I think a trained professional should be in the room if teenagers are together talking about real/serious mental health issues in a school setting.

4

no. to be honest, i don’t think many people would attend the meetings because mental health is a topic that is really touchy and personal; the vast majority of people would only confide with their closest friends and relatives about mental health issues. although teens talking about mental health is very important and very much needed, like @happy1, not having a professional there to conduct and guide the conversation could lead to poor/misleading but well-intentioned advice and conversations.

however, if you were to start a mental health club that raised awareness for mental health and did things like starting fundraisers to donate to mental health organizations and things like that, it would be much better. i definitely think people would go to a club like that. i myself would not attend a more conversation-based club, but i would definitely join a club that seemed more centered around volunteering, advocacy, activism, and raising money.