In recent weeks, the four-part documentary series Adolescence has received widespread attention for its raw, unfiltered portrayal of teenage life. While the series has sparked important public conversations, it raises serious concerns among mental health professionals and educators about its suitability for viewing in school settings.
As a psychotherapist working with young people and someone involved in designing and delivering school-based wellbeing programmes, I have worked closely with teachers, principals and the Department of Education to ensure that sensitive topics are introduced in a safe, age-appropriate and developmentally informed way.
Adolescence includes deeply personal and distressing accounts of trauma, including murder and the non-consensual sharing of explicit images of a young girl. These are harrowing events, and while they are sadly a reality for some, presenting them to a young audience without a clinical or therapeutic framework can be deeply destabilising.
Research in developmental psychology shows that the adolescent brain is highly sensitive to emotional stimuli but lacks the full cognitive capacity to regulate and contextualise complex emotional content. Viewing emotionally intense material without proper scaffolding or follow-up can heighten anxiety, trigger unresolved trauma or contribute to vicarious distress.
One of the well-documented effects of media exposure on young people is the risk of descriptive norming, the tendency to view behaviours shown in media as typical or socially acceptable simply because they are portrayed. In Adolescence, risky behaviours are depicted with minimal commentary. Without structured discussion and guidance, there is a real concern that these behaviours may be normalised rather than critically examined.
There is also a risk of normalising violence and aggression as a rite of passage for young people, particularly boys, although Adolescence also depicts a young teenage girl engaging in physical fighting. When violence is portrayed without context or consequence, it may reinforce harmful norms around gender and aggression.
Labelling these behaviours under the umbrella of toxic masculinity risks oversimplifying the issue and may inadvertently reinforce stereotypes. Rather than accepting aggression or emotional suppression as part of male identity, we must work to promote emotional literacy, empathy and healthy communication skills across all genders.
For adolescents already living with trauma, grief, abuse or mental health difficulties, scenes portraying violent death, sexual abuse or image-based exploitation may trigger acute emotional responses or retraumatise viewers.
The HSE’s National Guidelines on Mental Health Promotion and Suicide Prevention (2019) stress the importance of protecting young people from media content that could negatively influence their mental wellbeing, especially when it comes to themes of suicide and self-harm. Schools have a duty of care to their students and should err on the side of caution when selecting resources.
For material to be suitable for school use, it must have a clearly defined educational purpose aligned with developmental outcomes. While Adolescence may raise awareness, it lacks the structure, educational framing and learning outcomes needed to help young people engage with the content critically and safely.
Effective wellbeing education is grounded in evidence-based programmes that support emotional literacy, resilience and help-seeking behaviour. As it stands, Adolescence is a documentary for public awareness and reflection, not a pedagogical tool designed for adolescent development.
There are numerous age-appropriate, evidence-based programmes designed specifically for school settings that explore mental health, identity, relationships and risk-taking behaviour in a structured, supportive way. These include:
Jigsaw’s One Good School programme or NEART initiative
SPHE resources vetted by the Department of Education
The HSE’s MindOut and Mental Health and Wellbeing resources
These tools offer professional guidance, structured delivery and teacher training to ensure that young people are not only informed but also supported.
Young people deserve honest and empathetic conversations about mental health and adolescence. But timing, context and delivery matter.
While Adolescence may offer valuable insights for parents, educators and policymakers, it is not suitable for classroom viewing. Parents may benefit from watching the series to gain a deeper understanding of the pressures young people face, but what is to be gained by exposing adolescents to such traumatic content without professional support? Why should teachers pick up the burden of parenting our young people?
I am a trained professional and I cried at Stephen Graham’s performance, the father who believed he was a wonderful parent because he had not hit his children, as he himself had been beaten. The heartbreak in that moment was real, but its intensity shows why this material must be handled with care.
Educators and schools must prioritise psychological safety, emotional readiness and duty of care when selecting any material. In place of raw exposure, let us choose structured, age-appropriate conversations that educate, empower and protect.
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