From CAMH Members of the VALIDITY Team

Hear me, Understand me, Support me: What young women want you to know about depression

In this section:

• From CAMH Members of the VALIDITY Team
• From Young Women of the VALIDITY Team

On this page:

• A Review of the Basics: Attitude and Approach
• Talking with Young Women: A Tool for the Job

A Review of the Basics: Attitude and Approach

As service providers, working alongside young women throughout this project, we've learned valuable lessons that have guided our interactions with young women in terms of trust, respect and empowerment. Whether you are a physician, program planner, youth worker, therapist or teacher, you can apply these principles and ideas. We offer a few suggestions for how to apply them, but challenge you to find ways that make sense in your environment.

Validate the social and political context of young women’s lives.

Ask young women about how they feel about or are affected by what is happening in the world today.

Work with the reality that most young women have many intersecting identities and that issues of diversity affect how they see themselves and how the world sees them.

Realize that young women’s realities are affected by their environment, cultural experiences, sexuality, relationships, economic status and historical experiences, including traumas they may have experienced.

Involve young women as much as possible in any programming for treatment or prevention. Recognize young women’s expertise and include them in any decision making, planning or evaluating.

In the VALIDITY project, young women have been coordinators, participated in hiring processes, conducted focus groups, planned conferences, developed evaluations, contributed their artwork, advised on the creative layout process for the guide, named the project and guide and developed the VALIDITY logo. Their leadership has been key to the success of the project outcomes.

Emphasize choice and self-determination in your interactions with young women.

Realize that you are in a position of influence with young women when you are engaged in conversations, programs, classes or a therapeutic relationship with them. These are great opportunities to reinforce their strengths and their capacities to actively pursue their life goals and to encourage them to strive to accomplish these goals. Listen attentively to them, and when appropriate, help them to identify resources and supports in the community to help them along the way.

Work with young women on the issues that they identify as important.

Let young women take the lead in identifying concerns that they want to explore. But do not be afraid to ask young women about their life experiences. For example, ask about bullying, homophobia, racism, misogyny or any other forms of violence. Use open-ended questions so they can define their own issues and experiences.

Create a youth-friendly environment - keep it casual, accessible and fun.

Ensure that your space is not too formal a setting. Have material around that is written by young women for young women (e.g., Shameless magazine) and display pictures that are representative of the rich diversity of cultures, races, and shapes. Consider whether your space is physically accessible to young women with disabilities; for examples, are entrances and washrooms accessible to a young woman who may be using a wheelchair? Ensure that accessibility is a key part of your decision making when establishing an office, moving or renovating. Make sure that that the reading level used in brochures that you leave out is accessible to young women.

Encourage and accept young women’s forms of expression.

Invite young women to tell their stories in their own way (e.g., through painting, drawing, poetry).

Encourage young women to use their own “youth-speak” to express themselves freely.

Don’t create an environment that is “uptight,” where young women feel that they can’t freely express themselves. Young women will speak more freely and honestly if they don’t feel like they have to censor themselves before sharing. This does not mean that you can’t have some boundaries, but check out the young women’s perceptions about your environment to see if it stifles opportunities for communication.

As much as possible, keep planning processes (whether for a project or treatment plan) open and flexible.

Most youth service providers have plans for their programs or therapeutic sessions; however, be sure to gather the young women’s ideas or opinions - ideally at the beginning of the process. If this is not possible, be willing to be flexible in both your approach and your implementation. This is important in validating the knowledge, opinions and strengths of young women.

Encourage young women to ask questions when they want to know more information, need clarification or disagree with someone.

It is important that young women feel empowered to speak up to offer their opinion or to question situations.

Talking with Young Women: A Tool for the Job

Working with the list of issues identified by young women (under “Do”) and adding in some unexpressed challenges, we have created a reference chart that can help you to quickly identify and keep track of specific issues affecting young women.

Use this as a reminder of what to watch out for in your interactions and discussions with young women. Ask open-ended questions about these areas so that young women feel free to provide details about their own issues or concerns. You may want to keep a copy of this chart for each young woman you connect with who may be at risk for depression, checking back to it periodically to follow up and note any changes.

Name: ________________________________________________________________

Identity	Lifestyle	Relationships	Friends	Family	School	Society
Sexuality Comfort level with body Race Culture, ethnicity Citizenship Trauma Loss (eg., of loved one, homeland or other major loss) Disabilities Economics issues Job-related issues	Eating habits / relationship to food Level of physical activity Stress Smoking Use of alcohol or other substances	Abusive relationships Loss of someone close Sexual relationships Family challenges Strained friendships	Peer pressure Strained friendships Abusive relationships	Parental pressure Family composition (e.g. blended, adopting, matriarchal) Family challenges Sibling rivalry Abusive relationships Economic issues Environment at home History of substance use or mental health problems	Learning disabilities Relationship to school Environment at school Bullying Violence Peer pressure	Racial and cultural experiences Politics or things that they see or hear about on the news Economic issues Immigrant or refugee status

As you explore issues with young women, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is she self-aware?
• Does she silence herself or express herself readily?
• Is she in touch with all her emotions, including anger?
• Is there anything I can do to encourage her to express herself?

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