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Hiding in Plain Sight – Educator Discussion Guide

Presented by

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Hiding in Plain Sight: Youth Mental Illness is a two-part, four-hour film that features first-person accounts from more than 20 young people, ranging in age from 11 to 27, who live with mental health conditions, as well as parents, teachers, friends, healthcare providers in their lives, and independent mental health experts.

The film presents an unvarnished window into daily life with mental health challenges, from seemingly insurmountable obstacles to stories of hope and resilience. Through the experiences of these young people, the film confronts the issues of stigma, discrimination, awareness, and silence, and, in doing so, help advance a shift in the public perception of mental health concerns today.

Start Talking – Reduce Stigma

The issues surrounding mental illness are extraordinarily complex; the risk factors are daunting, the economics bewildering, the politics contentious. Public policy, research, and education can help. But the most important step — and often the most difficult one — is to start talking about it

The goal of this guide is to help educators facilitate conversations and create engagement opportunities around the film.

Through the broadcast and streaming of this film and the work that you are doing in your community, we can help to ignite this conversation. Hiding in Plain Sight gives educators an opportunity to consider the importance of destigmatizing youth mental illness. Understanding the complexities of this topic and promoting dialogue to help educators engage students.

WellBeings.org is a mental health resource, not a crisis or suicide response website. If you are in crisis, or experiencing thoughts of suicide, please call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988. The service is free and available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.