The scenes are familiar to school teams. A student withdraws, disengages, and their behavior changes abruptly. Another becomes irritable— aggressive —without any apparent reason. In these situations, adults often hesitate between two risks: downplaying it “to be safe,” or overreacting out of worry. In between, one observation keeps coming back: a lack of structure.
And youth mental health is no longer a peripheral issue. In France, the share of 18–24-year-olds affected by a depressive episode rose from 11.7% in 2017 to 20.8% in 2021, according to Santé publique France (Health Barometer).
The challenge is therefore highly practical: how do you support a middle- or high-school student in difficulty—without pretending to be a psychologist, and without being left alone with doubt?
Moving beyond “gut feeling”: the mental health first aid approach
MHFA Youth (Mental Health First Aid) offers a structured response: training adults who work with adolescents and young adults to provide immediate, proportionate support while waiting for specialist help to take over—or for the situation to stabilize.
The principle is similar to physical first aid: it’s not about diagnosing, but about ensuring safety, assessing, and guiding the person toward appropriate help.
What we interpret… and what may actually be going on
In middle and high school, certain behaviors are quickly labeled:
“Provocation” when a young person answers sharply,
“Lack of interest” when they mentally check out,
“Lack of willpower” when they disengage.
Yet in many cases, these signs may also reflect stress, exhaustion, anxiety, or difficulty regulating emotions. This nuance matters: it prevents reducing the situation to “personality,” and shifts action back toward relationship and structure.
Three common mistakes when facing a young person in difficulty
1) Downplaying
“It’s adolescence—it’ll pass.” Sometimes yes. But minimizing can delay access to help.
2) Moralizing
“Make an effort,” “pull yourself together.” These injunctions often increase guilt and withdrawal.
3) Putting the burden on the young person
“You just need to ask for help.” But precisely when a young person is unwell, they rarely have the resources to initiate steps on their own.
Three helpful actions: listen, notice, guide
MHFA Youth is built on a simple logic that can be applied in everyday school life.
1) Listen—without judgment and without an “interrogation”
The goal is not to force someone to talk, but to open a possibility for dialogue, using calm, respectful wording.
2) Notice warning signs—without trying to diagnose
The training covers the main emerging issues in young people (depression, anxiety, eating disorders, addictions, etc.) as well as crisis situations (suicidal thoughts, self-harm, panic attacks, substance-related effects, aggressive behavior).
This “spotting” is primarily about assessing urgency and clarifying what to do next.
3) Guide toward the right support
A key point is knowing who to hand over to, how to do it, and how to stay present without burning out or replacing professionals.
What the module brings to education professionals
The Youth module is designed for adults who work with adolescents and young adults. It aims in particular to:
stabilize the adult stance in sensitive situations,
reduce feelings of helplessness,
make referrals to internal and external resources safer,
improve support and follow-up.
Practically speaking, the program runs over 14 hours, in a small group (8 to 16 people), with training-focused teaching: exercises, role plays, video materials, and feedback from experience.
A demanding and resolutely constructive approach
Talking about youth mental health can feel heavy. Yet the aim is not to alarm—it’s to professionalize the response. Training adults reduces part of the “invisible damage”: isolation, disengagement, relationship escalations, delays in referral.
It’s not a promise of “zero difficulty.” It’s concrete progress: less improvisation, clearer reference points, better handovers.
To go further
If you work with middle- or high-school students (teachers, school life staff, education assistants, counselors, youth workers, association staff), the real question is not “should we be specialists?” but: should we be equipped?
Field question: in your day-to-day work, what’s missing most when a young person is struggling—the words… or a clear protocol (what to do, when, and who to refer to)?
