Las Cruces' adolescent mental health conference provides resources, insight

May 13--LAS CRUCES -- At 16 years old, Yisell Arías, a student at Las Montañas Charter High School, is already familiar with mental health issues.

"I have a friend who is taking (antidepressants) right now and he is very unstable," she said. "And there's been a suicide at my school as well."

Arías said in her experience, there aren't enough resources available in Las Cruces for teens seeking help for their mental health.

"I have a lot of friends who are struggling with it and they're embarrassed to see someone or to talk to someone," she said. "There's not enough information out there for them to know what to do or who to talk to."

Arías will discuss her experience with mental health issues during Las Cruces' first adolescent mental health conference, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at the Las Cruces Convention Center, 680 E. University Ave. Arías is one of four teens selected to sit on the adolescent panel during the lunch hour of the conference, which aims to bring awareness to mental health issues among adolescents and local mental health services.

The free conference is sponsored by the New Mexico State University School of Nursing through a portion of funds provided by state legislature to bring awareness to mental health disorders. The ultimate goal is to encourage nurses to seek certification in psychiatric nursing. The event is presented in partnership with the National Alliance for Mental Illness on Campus NMSU, NAMI-Doña Ana County, the New Mexico Nurses Association and several other NMSU departments and local agencies.

A number of speakers will also present at the conference, including keynote speaker, state Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Doña Ana, an advocate for mental health and domestic violence issues, who will discuss key issues of adolescent mental health. Papen's grandson suffers from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder and she is a volunteer on the board of the La Casa domestic violence shelter.

Other guest speakers include La Frontera Associate Director Mickey Curtis, certified sexual assault nurse practitioner in El Paso Hope Miller, and Executive Director of Mesilla Valley Hospital Dr. Ernest Flores. Discussion topics will include school violence, human trafficking, treatment options and issues, prevention community resources and more.

College of Health & Social Services Associate Dean and Director Dr. Pamela Schultz, who spearheaded the idea for the conference, said the event is geared not only to adolescents, but also "parents, practitioners and people who are just interested in mental health."

Professionals in nursing, social work and counseling who attend the conference can also earn continuing education credits at no cost, according to an AMH Conference news release.

"It's really important to look at adolescents especially because they have so many issues that can turn into problems," Schultz said. "It's such a hard time in life. In some homes, there's discussion of those kinds of issues and adolescents get through that stage relatively unscathed, but that's not always the case. There's a lot of abuse and neglect and drug use and alcoholism on the part of adults in the home and (kids) don't have the support that they need."

According to the news release, New Mexico adolescents consistently rank higher than the national average for teens who suffer from depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts, attempts and injuries. A behavioral health federal report in 2012 ranked New Mexico as having the highest percentage of citizens with mental illness, according to fronterasdesk.org.

"Doña Ana (County) has one of the highest rates of people who need treatment for mental illness and we don't have the right amount of practitioners to service everybody who needs it," said Leigh Cooper, president of NAMI on Campus, a fairly new university-wide organization that provides resources for students seeking help with mental health issues.

Cooper said one of the reasons behind the lack of mental health care practitioners is the area's low socioeconomic population and smaller pay for therapists and counselors. This problem is even worse in rural areas in the state, she said.

"We're blessed with the services we're getting, even though they're not enough, but you go a couple hours away and there's nothing," Cooper said.

The multidisciplinary approach to the conference will give visitors the opportunity to see the problem of handling mental health in the community from several different standpoints, Cooper said.

"We're really bringing everybody who has an impact on mental health and our community into this one conference in a very short period of time," she said. "We're even bringing in people from Albuquerque Public Schools who have different programs than what Las Cruces Public Schools has in the hope that they're able to network with each other and bounce ideas off each other and implement something in our school district that we may not have."

If this year's conference is successful, Schultz said she hopes to hold a similar conference again.

For a full schedule of conference events and speakers, visit schoolofnursing.nmsu.edu/program-schedule-for-adolescent-mental-health-conference-2015. Those interested in attending the conference can preregister on the NMSU School of Nursing website. Registration will also be held, beginning at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday. However, attendance is limited to the first 300 to register. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. There is no charge to attend the conference.

Alexia Severson may be reached at 575-541-5462.

If you go

What: NMSU School of Nursing Adolescent Mental Health Conference

When: 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., Saturday. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m.

Where: Las Cruces Convention Center, 680 E. University Ave., Exhibit Hall 1

Info: Preregister at schoolofnursing.nmsu.edu/registration-2015-adolescent-mental-health-conference.

Contact: Ruth Burkhart, NAMI on Campus Faculty Advisor, at burkhart@nmsu.edu.

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