With thoughts of love and romance in the air on Valentines Day, Fulton County Behavioral Health wants teens to know that physical and verbal abuse are not signs of love or romance.

On January 31, 2011, President Barak Obama declared the month of February as National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month

“Teens need to know the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships,” according to Dr. Patrice Harris, Director of Health Services and Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities.  Harris says, “Possessiveness, jealousy and threats are all warning signs that teens should report to parents, teachers or other appropriate authorities.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline reports that teen dating violence is an “urgent, silent epidemic, and that one in three teens will experience abuse in a dating relationship and that more than two-thirds of them will never report it to anyone.”

Dr. Harris urges parents to talk with their teens about dating and behaviors that represent love and respect versus behaviors that bring physical or mental harm to a young dating partner.  “Additionally, parents should talk with their teens about media messages that do not represent appropriate behavior in relationships as well as texting and internet communications that place teens in potential jeopardy,” said Dr. Harris.

For more information about preventing dating violence or other abuse among teens, call the Department of Behavioral Health and Development Disabilities at 404-613-3675.