{"id":94046,"date":"2019-05-12T17:45:56","date_gmt":"2019-05-12T23:45:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/animas-high-class-found-way-to-lower-suicide-depression-risk\/"},"modified":"2019-05-12T17:45:56","modified_gmt":"2019-05-12T23:45:56","slug":"animas-high-class-found-way-to-lower-suicide-depression-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/animas-high-class-found-way-to-lower-suicide-depression-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"Animas High class found way to lower suicide, depression risk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Animas
Animas High School teacher Shane Nelson leads a discussion in his adolescent development class in the fall. The adolescent development class successfully lowered the suicide risk and depression symptoms of those who participated, a standardized survey found.<\/span>Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Students had lower risks for suicide and fewer symptoms of depression after participating in a class at Animas High School that was built on seeing their lives as heroic journeys and strong relationships among the students.<\/p>\n

Animas High teacher Shane Nelson designed the class around author and teacher Joseph Campbell\u2019s theory that heroes across cultures and time periods share a similar journey into the unknown where they face challenges, temptations and transformation. He helps the students see their own experiences in context of a journey.<\/p>\n

\"Animas
Animas High School sophomore Riley Douglas, 16, made a series of eight collages for her semester project in Shane Nelson\u2019s adolescent development class. Students were required to do a creative project for the class showing what hurts their mental health, things that can make them feel better, or both.<\/span>Courtesy of Riley Douglas<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

When students can see their struggles give them skills and resiliency; it can give those challenges meaning, he said.<\/p>\n

Lessons in the class were fluid and dealt with the challenges of the day, which made them effective, he said. Students also spent time together outside, camping, rafting and hiking, which helped to build relationships among them.<\/p>\n

Data collected at the beginning and end of the fall semester showed that 64% of the 53 students in the class lowered their risk for suicide and depression, he said. The risk was measured using a standardized survey employed by mental health professionals. Some students were handpicked for the class and others signed up for it.<\/p>\n

\"Animas
Animas High School sophomore Riley Douglas, 16, made a series of eight collages for her semester project in Shane Nelson\u2019s adolescent development class. Some of the other projects included songs, paintings, pieces of writing and a short film.<\/span>Courtesy of Riley Douglas<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Nelson also observed the dramatic difference the class made in students\u2019 behavior and confidence.<\/p>\n

Riley Douglas, 16, started high school as a shy, quiet student and found the class helped her be more comfortable at school, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have really bad social anxiety, and I had an impossible time talking to people about the simplest things, let alone my emotions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\"Animas
Animas High School sophomore Riley Douglas, 16, made a series of eight collages for her semester project in Shane Nelson\u2019s adolescent development class. Some of the panels in the collage show what makes her depressed and other show what boosts her out of it.<\/span>Courtesy of Riley Douglas<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

The class helped her see the emotions and challenges she was experiencing were not that different from her peers, she said. It helped her become more open.<\/p>\n

She said Nelson\u2019s instruction and interest in individual students was the most powerful part of the class.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe wants to know what the problem is specifically and finds a million different ways to help people understand and help kids get through harder times in life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Nelson pitched the curriculum for his class, called Project Basecamp, last year to the Colorado Education Initiative<\/a>, a nonprofit that works on improving the quality of public education. The group helped him develop his idea through a fellowship program and later selected it as the best mental wellness program for this school year.<\/p>\n

The initiative is interested in finding ideas that can be replicated. Nelson said he believes other teachers can see similar reductions in symptoms of depression and improvement in mental health through his curriculum.<\/p>\n

mshinn@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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