The book, the very first to disseminate the findings of the Adolescent Mental Health Initiative sponsored by the Annenberg Foundation Trust at Sunnylands and the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania, addresses the current state of our knowledge about various mental health disorders in the teenage years, a developmental period when behavior and the brain are still “plastic.” Here, six commissions established by the Sunnylands Trust and APPC pool their expertise on adolescent anxiety, schizophrenia, substance use disorders, depression and bipolar disorders, eating disorders, and suicide in sections that thoroughly define each disorder, outline and assess available treatments, discuss prevention strategies, and suggest a research agenda based on what we know and don’t yet know about these various conditions. The volume also incorporates the latest research on how we can fully prepare young people to be happy and successful throughout their lives. Concluding chapters discuss other critical issues of particular relevance including the stigma of mental illness, the role of primary-care doctors and school-based mental health professionals in the detection and treatment of adolescent mental health problems, and the research, policy, and practice context for the delivery of evidence-based treatments.
