Breaking the Silence - Address of Dr Gavin Davidson

On Saturday, 1st February, around 200 people gathered in Assembly Buildings to “break the silence” on adolescent mental health.

“Breaking the Silence” was the result of speeches that two young women made at the Presbyterian General Assembly in June 2013. They spoke about the rise in mental health issues that teenagers and young adults are facing, the personal experiences they have faced with their friends and asked the church to respond to this crucial issue. As a result of this, a resolution was passed to work with the SPUD Youth Assembly on a project to engage the church with these issues – the conference was part one of this project.

Dr. Gavin Davidson’s address provided the delegates with a solid picture of adolescent mental health in Northern Ireland at the present time. He provided examples of what the statistics look like in reality and highlighted the challenges that we are facing with regards to the future of mental health.