New Hope For Struggling Teens and Their Families: Youth Mentors
New York Weekly August 18, 2023
by Hector Morgan
According to SAMHSA, “About 1 in 4 adolescents experience mental disorders that result in severe impairment…[and] almost half of adolescents with mental health issues do not receive any mental health services.”
These alarming statistics point to a growing adolescent mental health crisis. While awareness has increased, many parents still feel powerless as their kids spiral into anxiety, depression, disordered executive functioning, substance abuse, and other maladaptive behaviors.
I recently caught up with Maks Ezrin, the Founder and CEO of Youth Prevention Mentors, to learn more about this crisis and what can be done. He said, “At Youth Prevention Mentors, we have seen, firsthand, the troubling rise of the mental health crisis and its severe impact on young adults and adolescents.”
Since 2019, Youth Prevention Mentors (YPM) has pioneered a new kind of mental health support service by providing in-home mentorship services. Today, Youth Prevention Mentors has helped scores of struggling adolescents and their families across four continents.
While traditional mental health services are often limited to clinical settings, YPM brings the best treatment services available to family’s front doors. Their approach, called “Treatment Without Walls,” connects young adults and their families to highly skilled, accredited, and relatable young mentors, as well as other wrap-around services and premier clinicians. It’s a preventative model that seeks to address underlying issues before crisis strikes.
“What we do is largely born out of my own experiences with overcoming poor mental health and substance abuse as a teenager and young adult,” says Ezrin, “The fact that fifty percent of teenagers with mental health struggles are currently not receiving treatment is totally unacceptable to us. At YPM, we are working hard to step in front of this crisis and bring top-tier, one-on-one care to people’s homes.”
And while accolades aren’t everything, the folks at YPM certainly don’t lack credentials. YPM’s Clinical Director, Dr. Rami Kaminski, is the former Chief Psychiatrist of the state of New York – a position he held for fifteen years, and YPM’s Director of Family Programming, Dr. Louise Stanger, was voted the 2019 Family Interventionist of the Year from McLean’s Hospital – an affiliate of Harvard. As for Maks, he has his Masters in Positive Psychology from Ivy League University of Pennsylvania and received the Youth Community Leadership Award from Caron Foundation in 2021.
“Our secret sauce comes down to a few things,” says Maks. “One – we make sure that every mentor and mentee are going to be the best fit possible. With over 100 mentors on our roster, this is almost always possible. Two – no two clients are ever treated the same. We design programming to uniquely fit each client and their family. Three – our mentors are steeped in training from the frontier of today’s wellness field and bring years of expertise to the table.”
What truly sets YPM apart is their multifaceted approach that thrives within the clients’ own environment. Unlike conventional in-patient settings, YPM’s method is one of immersive support, enabling young adults and families to implement skills and strategies in real-world scenarios.
While working with YPM, young adults find a way to reconnect with their families, rediscover their purpose, regain autonomy, and build self-efficacy—all within the context of their everyday lives. Their approach is experiential and action-based, empowering both individuals and families to create lasting change. As communication and dynamics within families transform, the effects of YPM’s services leave families united and better equipped to navigate life’s challenges together.
“With the teen mental health crisis so pervasive today, we are fully committed to helping the youth of today and their families. Our services range from full live-in support to hourly, virtual tele-health appointments. This allows us to design bespoke and preventative solutions that align with the unique requirements of each family,” says Ezrin.
This school year, if tensions rise with your teen and problematic behaviors emerge, consider reaching out to Youth Prevention Mentors. YPM specializes in supporting adolescents and young adults aged 13-29 who are grappling with issues like executive dysfunction, substance abuse, mental illness, anxiety, depression, ADHD, and other maladaptive behaviors.
In a world where hope is too often overshadowed by despair, Youth Prevention Mentors is making a real and enduring impact on young adult/adolescent mental health by uplifting and transforming families near and far.