Invervention
Intervention examines the medicalization of adolescence, the effects of universal social-emotional training programs for all students in schools, psychotherapy, and the effectiveness of various approaches. It also considers the impact of labeling and self-labeling among youth with mental disorders and the language surrounding mental health.
The trend towards medicalizing adolescence and teenage distress is a stalwart of the "kids these days" effect. Youth development and its naturally accompanying turbulence, like mood swings or identity struggles, are normal developmental stages, not pathologies requiring increased intervention. Over-diagnosing teens leads to increased intervention and an over-prescribing of medications, which may undermine their resilience, teaching them to view discomfort as something to be fixed rather than navigated adventurously. It can also lead to unnecessary treatments with side effects, such as dependency on pharmaceuticals while ignoring social or environmental factors like family dynamics or peer pressure. This approach risks turning a healthy transition into a lifelong patienthood, potentially stunting personal growth and self-reliance.
In recent years, there has been a rise in schools incorporating universal social-emotional learning, which includes elements of mindfulness from Eastern spiritual traditions. However, large-scale studies indicate that students participating in standard educational settings without emotional training often have better emotional well-being than those who do receive such training. Although mental health literacy plays a role in preventing mental illness, it is essential for children to have moments to fully experience their emotions instead of learning self-regulation without solid adult connections.
Psychotherapy is highly effective. In clinical trials, individuals who receive psychotherapy often fare better than 80% of those in no-treatment control groups. That's impressive. We've known this since 1977, yet outcomes have not improved even 1% since then! This isn’t for lack of effort. We now have more how-to therapy books than those focused on brain surgery and rocket science combined. Still, we know that the "type" of therapy someone receives has almost no effect on psychotherapy outcomes. It really comes down to the relationship. If therapy is working, that’s great—stick with it. If therapy isn’t working, doing more of it is unlikely to help. When working with youth, we must view them as resources and active participants, not passive recipients of therapeutic treatment.
The foundation of adolescence is the pursuit to find out who we are and where we fit in in the world. The widespread labeling of mental disorders among adolescents can have a detrimental impact on their well-being. When teens adopt labels like "anxious" or "depressed"—often fueled by social media trends or casual diagnoses—they may internalize these as fixed identities rather than temporary states, amplifying feelings of helplessness and reducing their sense of agency. The evidence indicates youth who drop self-assigned labels of mental illness actually experience increased self-esteem, as opposed to those who maintain such an identifier.
External labeling by peers, parents, or professionals can further stigmatize them, isolating them socially and pressuring them to conform to a narrative of illness. Ultimately, this obsession with categorization risks undermining their confidence, resilience, and ability to see struggles as part of growth rather than defining traits.