A few years ago I worked for the federally funded AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) and until today I had no idea there was another ADAP out there. While I like to think of myself as one who keeps up with the times when it comes to great programs, this one somehow slipped by me. This ADAP is the Adolescent Depression Awareness Program. The program is sponsored by John Hopkins Medicine and is designed to “increase awareness about depression and the need for evaluation and treatment”.
I felt a little better about my lack of knowledge of the program when I learned it is in the process of expanding nationally and training teachers and school personnel how to provide the information to students and families, rather than only training mental health professionals. After looking at an overview of the curriculum that makes sense, as the information is basic awareness and not specifically about treatment. It also does not look at whether or not a student has depression – it is an informational program only.
I found out about this program from a blog on Psych Central. It touted the program as something that is highly needed, and after looking into what the program does I would agree. There is a cost to train people to provide the program in the schools, but the training includes what you would need to keep things running. The program originators are hoping not only to expand ADAP nationwide, but also want to start research on the program to get some formal research behind it. As the Psych Central blog pointed out, it is difficult to prove how a program stops things from happening (i.e. you can never know how many suicides, drug overdoses, etc are avoided), but putting some research behind ADAP may make it easier for schools to get funding to get people in their schools trained in ADAP. They do have some before/after data on the program, as it has been in place for about 4 years, and it is showing good results. It will take parents and teachers, along with some creative funding, to truly get a nationwide program up and running. So I say “ask for it”. If you have an resources to get it to your local schools then do it. It could save lives.