AAMFT Clinical Fellow Nelba Marquez-Greene, LMFT, tragically lost her daughter in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings in Newtown, CT. Mrs. Marquez-Greene states, "I hope the tragedy of the school shootings will bring about a greater awareness to mental health issues and to reduce the stigma attached to those with mental illness, perhaps preventing tragedies like the one that took Ana's life."

Mental Illness in Children

Children, adolescents and adults of all ages can experience a MI. Mental illnesses are biologically based, meaning that chemicals or structures in the brain are not working as they are supposed to, resulting in symptoms that cannot be managed or overcome without treatment, often resulting in lives that are unstable and unfulfilled.