Drugs in the spotlight of coming school forum

MELBOURNE media identity Eileen Berry will present a parent guide to drugs at Drysdale’s St Ignatius College later this month.

Drugs 101 is one of four parent guides Ms Berry has released – the others are Sex 101, Social Media 101 and Mental Health 101.

Ms Berry said the parent guides assisted schools by organising discussion evenings where a panel of experts talked about their experiences and answered parents’ questions; no holds barred.

“These nights have provided a useful forum in which parents can learn from others, share ideas and contribute to the debate.

“We hope parents will use the information, drawn from reputable sources, to start important conversations with their teenagers.”

Ms Berry said suicide, anxiety, depression, ADHD, self-harm, eating disorders and other mental illnesses were also all taking a terrible toll on young people.

She said parents can help minimise these and other issues by educating themselves about building resilience in children and knowing how to approach problems if they arise.

Ms Berry, who cared for a nephew who lived (and continues to live) with a drug problem for many years, has just released Mental Health 101, the fourth in her parent guides series. It covers major mental illnesses and provides parents with expert advice on how to minimise and/or deal with them.

“It is also important to put these issues in context,” she said.

“Six in seven young people do not have a mental health disorder, but we need to do what we can for those who do.

“Mental Health 101 contains statistics, expert advice and case studies involving families and health professionals to provide a full overview.”

Ms Berry is also planning Gambling and Gaming 101, Body Image 101, Anxiety 101, Resilience 101 and Money 101.

The event is at St Ignatius College on Wednesday, March 27 from 7pm to 8.30pm, and will be hosted by deputy principal Michael Timms.