Click here to read the report!

In the fall of 2001, a group of 10 teens came together to form a youth group.  They called themselves the OTHERS and set out to battle stigma, share their own stories and reach out to other youth.  They blazed their own trail through central Massachusetts and touched everyone who saw and heard them.  Along the way, they became self advocates and leaders.

Youth involvement is a necessary element in creating a system of care that works.  Everyone benefits from the involvement of youth from parents to policy makers as well as the youth themselves.  The OTHERS not only participated in the system that serves youth and families, they defined their own role in it.

The original group of 10 teens came to include many other youth as the group grew.  The OTHERS knew what it was like to be depressed, to be homeless, to fail in school, to be hospitalized, to lose friends and to be laughed at.  And they told us how they had survived it.  And they challenged us all to listen to their wisdom and partner with them.

A youth guided approach means youth have a sustainable voice and a decision-making role.  It is essential that we listen to youth to hear their insights and solutions.  Their perspective is unique, moving and often humorous. After all, youth-guided also means the work should be fun and worthwhile.

PAL has updated its Police Pocket Guide and has developed a Training for Law Enforcement Officers, Legal Professionals, and other First Responders. 

Background Information on the Guide

In 2001, we created our widely successful Police Pocket Guide, which is a practical guide for police and other first responders on responding to youth with mental health needs.  It includes information on various mental health disorders and medications, specific tips and tools on working with this population and their families, and national and state resources.  Prior feedback indicated that the original guide was too much information, even though it was helpful.  As a result, when we updated it over the summer, we created two versions.  The abbreviated version is to serve as more of a reference guide, and it is designed to fit in your pocket.  The other is the full, updated version that is geared towards people that want more detailed information.

To download the abbreviated version, click here. 

To download the full version, click here.

Background Information on the Training

Have you ever been in a challenging situation with a youth with mental health needs?  This training is based off of our highly successful Police Pocket Guide, and it is designed to give law enforcement officers, legal professionals, and other first responders concrete and specific tools, techniques, and resources on responding to and working with youth with mental health needs and their families. 

We can bring this training to you!  Contact Stephany Melton, Education and Communications Coordinator, at 617-542-7860 x202 or smelton@ppal.net for more information.  We are here to work with you to make your job easier!

Medications and Choices: The Perspective of Families and Youth is a ground breaking, family-driven study of the decision making process families go through when they choose to use psychotropic medication to treat their child’s mental health needs.  Survey data from 274 parents and more than 80 youth document many common experiences such as a search for reliable information, trials of alternative treatments and concerns about financial costs.  

Over the past several years, there has been a great deal of heated discussion about the rising use of psychiatric medications to treat children and adolescents.  Media coverage has produced mixed reactions in many parents, who have felt their experiences were not accurately portrayed.  Although each family’s experience is unique, many common elements and key values emerged in this study. Most strikingly, parents feel caught between their own experience of the effectiveness of medication and their concerns that medications may be stigmatizing or risky.

Emergency Service Programs (ESPs) represent the first stop for many families of children going through a mental health crisis.  Periodically, Parent/Professional Advocacy League (PAL) receives a surge in calls and concerns around crisis care and one such surge prompted this study.  This survey sought to capture the concerns of families and mental health professionals who have had experience with children’s mental health emergency services and highlight areas which need improvement in those settings.

To see the full report, click here.

The use of medications as a treatment for emotional, behavioral and mental health needs in children and teens has become commonplace.  The rising number of children taking psychiatric medications has been discussed by the media, by doctors and by school professionals.  Yet, the perspective of families has never been captured. 

The results of this study are coming soon.

In August 2004, Parent/Professional Advocacy League (PAL) conducted a brief survey of approximately 35 Family Support Specialists (FSS) in the PAL network in Massachusetts. The Family Support Specialists work with hundreds of families in communities throughout the Commonwealth.These families receive support through support groups, visits, phone calls and by being accompanied to various school and planning meetings. Through these interactions, many families share their concerns regarding their children; some of those concerns include substance use. Many families feel that these co-occurring disorders complicate their access to services and treatments.

Click on the link below to view the survey results.
Substance Use in Children and Adolescents with Mental Health Needs

Speak Out for Access: The Experiences of Massachusetts Families in Obtaining Mental Health Care for their Children reports the barriers, gaps and fragmentation faced by the families of children with mental health needs. Results from a survey of 300 families highlight concerns around early identification, access to care, parental involvement, schools, crisis care, medications and linkages to other services.

Click here to read the full report