Oolagen helps teens in need

Oolagen helps teens in need. Oolagen is a non-profit mental health care centre for teens. Stock photo

In Toronto, Oolagen is a safe haven of help and support for teens and the plethora of issues and problems they face in today's world.

"What we do is really help youth work through their issues and grow to be their best selves, to reach their full potential," said Caroline Sneath, director of development at Oolagen, a non-profit mental health care centre for teens.

Oolagen opened its doors in 1967 with only one treatment facility and a goal to provide help for any teen in need. While many centres cater to specific problems, what's unique about Oolagen is it provides help to overcome any problem a teen may come up against.

"It may be for a long time or it may be for a short time while we're helping them find the proper resources, but we connect with them and their families and give them all the resources they need in order to work through their issues," Sneath said.

Problems could include anything from physical and sexual abuse, depression and eating disorders, to bullying, drug abuse and those who self-harm.

Sneath said 70 per cent of the teens they treat are suffering the effects of physical, sexual or emotional abuse.

Today, the centre has many programs to accommodate the needs of teens including on-site counselling services in three Toronto high schools, a walk-in clinic, an outpatient counselling and a wraparound program.

Wraparound is a technique where a team of people help a teen with all aspects of their issues including help to find housing, counselling and legal advice, anything teens need to get them on their feet.

The centre also has two residential treatment facilities, one for kids in the Children's Aid and Oolagen House, open to all teens in the community. A teen can be referred to Oolagen from hospitals, doctors, school guidance councillors or principals or they can come to the walk-in clinic and see a counsellor right away.

Richard Langhorne is on the front lines, working with teens and their families as an individual and family therapist at Oolagen House as well as in the walk-in clinic.

He said he sees teens who are seeking counselling for the first time and those who have already attempted other interventions that didn't worked and who can't live at home any longer.

Langhorne helps teens with a range of issues that may be hard to tackle, but the good thing, he said, is we're now in a culture where people are comfortable acknowledging issues that previously were swept under the rug.

"People are more willing now to talk about things like bullying and the affects of it and depression and anxiety, eating disorders and the effects of that on an individual and the influences that cause something like that, like social media and expectations and how people struggle with body image," he said.

Regardless, Sneath said many people don't take teens problems as seriously as they should, perhaps seeing it as "just something they're going through."

"Kids deal with a myriad of issues and anything can get them off track," Sneath said. "These are the formative years and a crucial time for young people."

And it's not as simple as some kids deal with problems better than others. Sneath explained some may have a better support system or are mentally better equipped with the tools and confidence to overcome issues.

Since it's estimated one in five teens in North America need some form of therapeutic intervention, it's obvious many teens need help.

"That number is massive and if it were a physical disease there would be public outcry to make sure everyone got the services and help they needed," Sneath said.

Langhorne said some youth may have that internal drive to push themselves to do what they need to do to get through it and are maybe stronger than others, but every teen has his own strengths and things like depression, pressures or anxiety affects each differently.

"Some may have some precipitating factor they can point to that they can say has brought this (problem) on, for example, a relationship breakup, whereas some don't have an identifier and they say, 'I just feel so down and I can't get out of bed and I can't go to school anymore and I've lost my interest in things,'" he said, adding many feel alone and isolated.

Sneath said it's been proven it's beneficial to address problems sooner rather than later.

"If kids get the help when they're young, no matter what the issue, they can be better resolved and they can go on and lead very productive and happy lives," she said. "If their issues were never treated, they become less resilient as they age," adding it can also be a huge cost to society as many end up homeless, substance abusers or in prison.

While many have the ability to overcome their problems even if they don't get help, Langhorne said for others problems build.

For example, if someone has trouble with anger and has not sought out ways to manage and combat it "chances are it's going to be a problem that interferes with personal relationships, workplace performance. It may be the seeds for conflict in domestic relationships. It has the ability to create all those types of things," he said.

He also said if initial problems are not confronted they can potentially build and spiral out of control.

"It could be a snowball effect. It could start with bullying and that can lead to depression, which can leads to substance misuse, which maybe leads to criminal involvement," Langhorne said. "All of these have the potential to touch on another problem area and introduce a struggle someone previously didn't have because support wasn't put in place when it was most needed."

Visit www.oolagen.org for details.