title: Support for At-Risk Girls: A School-Based Mental Health Nursing Initiative.
abstract: Mental health problems often go undiagnosed or unaddressed until a crisis or extreme event brings the problem to the forefront. Youth are particularly at risk for lack of identification and treatment in regard to mental health issues. This article describes an advanced nursing practice mental health initiative for at-risk teenage girls based on Hildegard Peplau's nursing theory, group process, and healing through holistic health approaches. A support group, RICHES, was developed with focus on core components of relationships, identity, communication, health, esteem, and support. The acronym RICHES was chosen as the name of the support group. Selected themes and issues addressed in this school-based support group are illustrated in case vignettes. Through a collaborative approach with the community and school, this practice initiative presents a unique healing process that extends knowledge in the realm of intervention with at-risk teenage girls. Further research is needed on the efficacy of support groups to modify risk factors and to address goals for primary prevention in at-risk teenage girls.
authors.affiliation: Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA, USA adamshp@moravian.edu.
authors.forename: Pamela
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Adamshick
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D016497:Adolescent Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards; D055317:Evidence-Based Practice; D005260:Female; D006694:Holistic Health; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000451:nursing* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D008603:Mental Health; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D009742:Nursing Theory; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D012572:School Health Services; D012944:Social Support; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology
keywords: Peplau’s theory; adolescent girls; at-risk; mental health; nursing practice; school-based; stress and coping; support group