Psykisk ohälsa bland ungdomar - En kvalitativ studie om skolkuratorers arbete med psykisk ohälsa på högstadiet

Sammanfattning: The purpose of this essay was to study school counselors’ experiences of mental illness among adolescents focusing on causes and how they work to counteract mental illness among adolescents. To examine this, we conducted six semi-structured interviews with school counselors working with high school students. We analyzed the interviews based on previous research along with the theories systems theory and collaboration theory. The result showed that problematic family situations and socioeconomic status are causes of adolescents' mental illness. Friendships, relationships and school-related stress are also considered as contributing factors to students' mental illness. In addition, ideals, cyberbullying and negative information on social media can affect their mental health. The school counselors collaborative work with teachers is regarded as fundamental because the teachers work closest to the students and have significant possibilities to detect signals that may indicate mental illness. Cooperation with external authorities is also essential in order to be able to meet the adolescents needs and provide them with the help they require.