Screening for mental health problems may help teens find help for depression Despite the fact that depression is so common, it often goes untreated. A simple prescription to buy Paxil may be enough to help a person overcome their symptoms, but few people seek this type of help. Despite the fact that depression is so common, it often goes untreated. A simple prescription to buy Paxil may be enough to help a person overcome their symptoms, but few people seek this type of help. However, a new study indicates that school-based mental health screenings may be able to address this problem among teens. Researchers from Columbia University reported in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry that three out of every four students they identified as being at risk for mental health problems were not receiving any type of treatment. However, after initially screening these individuals through a program called TeenScreen and recommending treatment, 76 percent who were not seeking care saw a doctor for their condition within 90 days. The researchers said this shows how important early intervention is in helping teens avoid mental health problems like depression. "The value of school-based screening is reinforced by this study and highlights TeenScreen's unique ability to help teens whose mental health problems would otherwise go unidentified," said Leslie McGuire, one of the authors of the study.

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