Where Nurses Can Lead on Youth Mental Health

Takeaways from Lydia Nichols, Duke graduate student and founder of a youth mental health nonprofit

On left, Linda Ni
On left, Lydia Nichols speaking at Duke School of Nursing's December 2024 graduation ceremony. On right, Nichols cuts the ribbon at a "calming corner" she helped establish for Brentwood Elementary School in Fayetteville.

This is a summary of a story by Jessica Covil-Manset on School of Nursing. 

Lydia Nichols is an alumna of Duke University School of Nursing who has now returned for a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree. She is the founder and owner of both a consulting firm and a youth mental health nonprofit. Now she is opening an even larger venture: a pediatric behavioral health clinic. In an interview, Nichols talked about the principles and goals that guide her career. 

Lead with integrity.

Nichols is committed to helping nurses overcome challenges in the workplace. She founded Nurse Consultants LLC “with the mission to teach nurses and nursing students to recognize integrity-comprising situations and respond with integrity.” 

“We need to have these conversations in nursing orientation.”

Focusing on youth mental health is paramount.

When trauma hit her family, Nichols developed a deeper understanding of the importance of supporting mental health. With the mental health nonprofit YouthTHRIVE, she has established “calm corners” in schools, outfitted with fidgets and yoga mats to support students’ mental health. 

“Suicide is now the leading cause of death for North Carolina youth ages 10 to 14 … For me, those numbers represented children, families, and communities that needed support."

The best care is trauma informed ...

Nichols’ next goal is equipping school nurses to talk with students about their mental health needs.

“I think trauma-informed approaches should be part of the core curriculum for all nurses—how to meet someone where they are, acknowledging their unique lived experiences and recognizing our own healed or unhealed traumas.” 

... and culturally sensitive.

Relatedly, Nichols plans to create conversation cards for school nurses to talk with Black and Brown girls about their menstrual cycle.

“We have evidence that shows missed school days because of menstrual poverty, and we need to equip school nurses … to be able to have those conversations so they can provide resources.” 

A community clinic can prevent crisis.

With a youth clinic, Nichols says her “vision is to create a place where children, adolescents, and families can access behavioral health support before they reach a crisis.” 

For the full story, go to School of Nursing.