In October 2021 a national emergency in child mental health was declared. Since then the crisis has only gotten worse.

A 2021 survey of 88 children’s hospitals reported that they admit, on average, four teens per day to inpatient programs. At many of these hospitals, more children await help, but there are simply not enough services or psychiatric beds for them.

So these children have to wait, sometimes for days or even a week, in hospital emergency departments. This is not a good place for a young person coping with grave mental health issues and perhaps considering suicide. Waiting at home is not a good option either – the family is often unable or unwilling to deal with a child who is distraught or violent.

When teens and young adults go to the emergency room or are hospitalized for critical mental health issues a staggering number are not receiving quick follow-up care, new U.S. research finds.

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts looked at more than 100,000 ER visits of young people ages 12 to 27 who have private insurance. Only about 29% received follow-up care within seven days after their crisis. Less than half — just 46% — received follow-up care within that first month.

Similarly, in 95,000 youths and young adults whose cases were so severe they were hospitalized, less than 43% had after care within seven days and 67% within 30 days.

That left many young people without professional help while still vulnerable, including to risk of suicide.

Over the years, young patients have become more aggressive and suicidal. They are sicker when compared to years past. From 2007 through 2021, suicide rates among young people ages 10 to 24 increased by 62%. From 2014 to 2021, homicide rates rose by 60%. The situation is so grim that in October 2021, health care professionals declared a national emergency in child mental health.

In addition to these dire stats, we have a drastic shortage of child and adolescent psychiatrists across the United States, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

There is also a significant shortage of child therapists – social workers, psychologists, licensed professional counselors – as well.

A study of high school students in 2021 found more than 44% had felt persistent sadness or hopelessness in the past year.  About 1 in 5 seriously considered suicide, and 1 in 10 attempted suicide.

Reducing barriers to access could help, as would increased communication between providers and having more case management at hospitals to get appointments scheduled at the time of discharge.

So What Is the Problem? 

Issues experienced by this age group in terms of access to mental health care include insurance changes as they transition from high school to college or the workforce.

In addition, “we see a transition from pediatric providers to adult providers, and there are many youth that are lost in this transition.”

Some of the hurdles can include school, financial challenges, fewer supports in place for adults than for children and delays in psychosocial development in terms of how they interact with peers, how they get appointments, how they interact with their insurers and even how they get to pharmacies to pick up their medication.

How Do We Fix It? 

According to the APA,

“The idea of a ‘mental health crisis’ is really broad. For providers and parents, the term can be anxiety-provoking,” said Melissa Brymer, PhD, who directs terrorism and disaster programs at the UCLA–Duke University National Center for Child Traumatic Stress. “Part of our role is to highlight specific areas that are critical in this discussion.”

Across the field, psychologists are doing just that. In addition to studying the biological, social, and structural contributors to the current situation, they are developing and disseminating solutions to families, in schools, and at the state level. They’re exploring ways to improve clinical training and capacity and working to restructure policies to support the most vulnerable children and teens.

Psychologists were also behind new mental health recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a group of volunteer health professionals who evaluate evidence on various preventive health services. The task force now recommends regular anxiety screenings for youth ages 8 to 18 and regular depression screenings for adolescents ages 12 to 18.

“I see these trends in children’s mental health problems as being critical, but there are solutions,” Hoagwood said. “If we refocus our efforts toward those solutions, we could see some of these tides turn.”

To read more of the news referenced in this article, click here.