“It Was a Real Eye-Opener”: Supporting Adolescent Mental Health Literacy Through Contemporary Young Adult Literature

Abstract

Increased mental health literacy in adolescents is critical, as it can lead to greater empathy and result in less stigmatising behaviour (Mitchell, 2014; Perry et al., 2014). As a prime site of influence, schools are integral to raising adolescent mental health awareness and
promoting pro-social behaviours (Carlisle et al., 2018; Lawrence et al., 2015). The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) has provided little guidance and resourcing for teachers to select appropriate texts for study. If teachers have been designated as primarily responsible for text selection (Hateley, 2014) they need support from teacher librarians to suggest and source well-written young adult literature dealing with the issues around mental health as texts for the classroom.