A new monthly bill, if handed, is intended to go into result July 1st and it would demand all health care companies to enter client information into an on the net database.
Quite a few protesters on Saturday argued it is a violation of patients’ legal rights and privateness.
“The way it is likely to effects our clients and customers is that they’re going to have less privateness protections. They are likely to have much less potential to safeguard their psychological wellbeing records. And we just want to make confident that people recognize that mental well being information are a lot more essential, they are extra personal than your regular medical data,” explained Sabrina DeQuasie, Oklahoma Companies of Privacy.
Organizers of Saturday’s protest stated through the march, they were wanting to carry recognition to individuals and purchasers on how this would affect their privateness.
“A large amount of individuals don’t have an understanding of that we have principles in place that maintain that individual from your clinical record… But it’s also going to alter how your companies are equipped to even give you products and services. And that usually means that we’re heading to have to give details to the point out that we truly feel like is personal and that we should not be providing them our rights,” mentioned DeQuasie.
Protestors also said they are anxious this would drive healthcare vendors to go away the field.
“This is a necessity that is enforced, and we would have to do this… The state is not associated in their overall health treatment. They are not supplying money. They’re just necessitating us to place in their information into a point out database. And they’ve been indicating they are heading to use it for demographic information and facts and things like this. And I assume I feel it’s going to be actually dangerous for individuals that want counseling,” stated Carla, protester and healthcare worker.
On the other hand, the Oklahoma Healthcare Authority Secretary, Kevin Corbett said this new legislation would pave a new route in healthcare.
“This is one thing we think will increase to coordination of care, superior solutions, greater details movement,” mentioned Secretary Kevin Corbett, Oklahoma Wellbeing Treatment Authority
Corbett also wanted to reassure all people there will be a “very rigid access” in terms of who can glimpse at the database.
“There’s tons of stringent protection all over this details, as you be expecting. It is personalized health data that we want to make confident that we all have a duty to secure,” said Corbett.
The OHCA Board of Directors will forged their remaining votes Wednesday, March 22nd at 2 p.m. KFOR will deliver you the consequence then.
You can find extra on the monthly bill in this article.
It’s well-known that COVID-19 protocols caused financial hardship — particularly among lower-and middle-class families — and now a new study highlights the toll those struggles took on children’s mental health.
A new study led by researchers from Columbia University and Weill Cornell Medicine, both in New York, suggests that family economic hardship was the biggest driver of “stress, sadness and COVID-related worry” among kids.
The study, published in the JAMA Network, also suggested that COVID-related school closures did not have an impact on kids’ mental health.
AS EMERGENCY ROOMS SEE MORE OF AMERICA’S MENTALLY ILL KIDS, NEW STUDY PINPOINTS ISSUES
Researchers analyzed data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, which was funded by the National Institutes of Health. That study surveyed 6,030 children between 10 and 13 years old in 21 U.S. cities between 2020 and 2021.
It also gathered data from kids and their guardians about their experiences during the pandemic, including job loss, remote schooling and COVID-related policies.
Additionally, it included questions about the link between sleep and mental health.
A new study suggests that family economic hardship was the biggest driver of “stress, sadness and COVID-19-related worry” among kids during the lockdowns. (iStock)
Dr. Michael Roeske, a licensed clinical psychologist and senior director of the Newport Healthcare Center, which is headquartered in California, was not involved in the study but said he was not surprised that financial struggles impacted kids’ mental health.
COVID-19 SHOCKER: PARENTS LIED ABOUT THEIR KIDS’ SICKNESS STATUS AND BROKE QUARANTINE RULES, STUDY FINDS
“Kids are often highly attuned to stress in the home,” he told Fox News Digital in an email.
“If there were feelings of uncertainty and concern, which almost certainly comes from loss of a job or reductions in income, it would undoubtedly impact them. If the parents are overly stressed or scared themselves, kids may no longer feel safe in the home. This can be devastating developmentally.”
“If parents are overly stressed or scared themselves, kids may no longer feel safe in the home.”
And in even more dire cases, kids may become worried about basic necessities and housing, he added.
Dr. Roeske said he is seeing the effects of the pandemic firsthand via Newport Healthcare, which operates a series of mental health treatment centers across the country.
“We’re counseling more kids struggling with depression, anxiety and suicidality than we saw previously,” he said.
Study suggests school closures had no mental health impact
While other studies have found that school closures did indeed cause a spike in children’s mental health struggles, this research did not identify any such link.
PARENTS, STUDENTS ON THE IMPACT OF SCHOOL CLOSURES THREE YEARS LATER
Dr. Yunyu Xiao, an assistant professor at Weill Cornell Medicine who co-authored the study, offered one possible explanation for what may seem like a surprising lack of impact.
“If children had more protective factors like increased parental care at home during lockdown, that would help with mental health,” she said in an email to Fox News Digital.
“Kids are often highly attuned to stress in the home,” one psychiatrist told Fox News Digital. “If there were feelings of uncertainty and concern, which almost certainly comes from loss of a job or reductions in income, it would undoubtedly impact them.”(iStock)
The study didn’t use specific measures of mental health, so it couldn’t speak to severity or whether new disorders emerged, said Dr. Roeske.
“Certainly, it is hard to argue that no association between school closures and children’s mental health existed given the isolation, uncertainty and even added time on devices that occurred as a result,” he said.
MAJORITY OF COLLEGE STUDENTS SUFFERING FROM MENTAL ILLNESS, ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION ON THE RISE: STUDY
“The disruption of one’s normal routine in such an extreme way alone can cause anxiety and symptoms of depression.”
Communication, mental health care are key
To protect kids’ mental health during times of hardship, it’s essential to maintain age-appropriate lines of communication, said Roeske, and to carefully consider how much children hear and know about any financial struggles.
KIDS’ SCREEN TIME SKYROCKETED DURING PANDEMIC — AND IT’S STILL HIGHER THAN PRE-COVID
“Know the signs of distress, like changes in behaviors, eating patterns and sleep,” he said.
“And get your child help if things do not improve or continue to worsen; do not wait for things to get really bad.”
It’s important for parents to recognize signs of distress and to know how to get help for their kids.(iStock)
Dr. Roeske pointed out that many parents don’t know where to turn for help.
He cited a recent survey of 1,000 parents of teens ages 13-17 conducted by Wakefield Research for Newport Healthcare.
The researchers didn’t look at the severity or onset of new psychiatric disorders.
While nearly half of parents (46{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f}) reported that the pandemic allowed them to see more of their teens’ mental health struggles during quarantine and remote learning, nearly 70{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} lacked the knowledge of what to do if their teen were experiencing problems that might require treatment.
Study had limitations
Because the data was self-reported, Dr. Xiao said there is a chance that responses were biased or inaccurate. Also, the researchers didn’t look at the severity or onset of new psychiatric disorders.
“Future research should incorporate more precise mental health measurements, such as clinical scales, and make use of advanced techniques for more efficient and bias-corrected estimations,” she said.
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There may also be other disruptive factors, such as COVID-19-related deaths in the family, which could affect mental health, Dr. Xiao also said.
“While our study aimed to correct bias for family financial and school disruptions, it does not imply that no other significant disruptions are present,” she explained.
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The study also did not have a large enough sample to segment by race, age, gender or family environment.
Melissa Rudy is health editor and a member of the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital.
Results from a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey add to the evidence that teen mental health is in crisis, with particularly concerning numbers surrounding teen girls.
The survey found around 1 in 3 high school girls in the U.S. have seriously considered attempting suicide and more than half of teen girls, 57{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f}, reported feeling “persistently sad or hopeless” — a record high.
By contrast, 14{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} of high school boys told the 2021 survey that they had seriously considered attempting suicide, up from 13{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} in 2011.
Among LGBQ+ students, close to 70{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} said they experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the past year, more than 50{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} had poor mental health during the past 30 days and almost 25{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} attempted suicide during the past year.
Alyssa Mairanz, a licensed mental health counselor and owner of Empower Your Mind Therapy, says the numbers are distressing, yet unfortunately, she “wasn’t surprised.”
“There are a few things that teens nowadays deal with that older generations didn’t have to deal with,” Mairanz notes, including social media, which can lead to harmful comparisons and online bullying, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on developing minds.
So what can parents do to make sure their teens are OK?
Know the line between normal and not
“There’s so many things that are typical with teens that aren’t necessarily cause for concern, like general moodiness (and) fighting with parents,” Mairanz says. “Parents don’t know when it’s cause for concern and what’s more normal, so I think understanding that line is super important.”
She says it may be a sign of something more serious if you see your teen…
is in intense, longer-lasting low moods
is becoming more isolated or withdrawn, including not wanting to socialize or see friends
is not wanting to get out of bed
is engaging in high risky behaviors, including physical aggression or intense substance use
Another sign that often goes under the radar? High perfectionism.
“A teen that’s really setting these very high, unrealistic standards for themselves in terms of anything — could be grades, friends, looks,” she says. “When it’s really that high, it’s definitely a warning sign. These can often lead to depression (and) suicidality.”
Discussing the results of the recent survey on CBS News “Prime Time,” Dr. Debra Houry, chief medical officer at the CDC, noted that changes in sleep and appetite can also be an indicator.
Listen and validate
“When parents are more validating to their child and focus on what they need versus what maybe the parent is assuming, teenagers tend to be much more open and willing to come to their parents when they’re struggling,” Mairanz says.
So, instead of opening a dialogue the intention to provide solutions, which may look like this:
Responding to an upset teenager with, “Oh it’s fine,” “It’s not such a big deal” or “It’s all going to be OK.”
Or saying, “Let’s talk about how we can study better” or “Let’s create more intense notes” when a child does poorly on a test.
Mairanz suggests listening and validating, instead.
“Parents don’t necessarily even realize how their response to their teenagers can have an impact. … But a lot of times, the children really just need the emotional support. Because when they hear a solution, they hear, ‘OK, I’m not doing enough,’ rather than, ‘OK, this is a struggle and it’s understandable that you’re upset.'”
Houry says being as “open and nonjudgmental as possible” can help a child feel more comfortable coming to their parent.
Keep an eye on social media usage
Parents should look out for a “real codependency” between their kid and their phones, which can look like being on social media and not taking breaks, Mairanz advises.
“Especially if it’s impacting their ability to function, go to school, do their homework, be with friends… it’s important to try to make sure teens get a break from all of that,” she says.
Don’t be a stranger to your child’s circles
It’s important not only to talk to your child, but to know your child’s friends and their friends’ parents, Houry says.
“That way you’re able to have an open communication with families around you, build that support system and have a good sense of where your child is and what they’re up to,” she explains.
Don’t ignore a child asking for help
If a child asks for professional help, don’t brush it off. Experts say that’s a sign to take action.
“Sometimes there’s still a stigma around therapy, especially with parents because (they) want their children to be OK and they take it very personally when we’re not,” Mairanz explains. “It’s unfortunately common for parents to be like, ‘You’re fine. This is just normal teenage stuff, you don’t need help.'”
If a child isn’t comfortable enough to ask for support, look out for signs they need professional help, including self-harm, increased substance use, withdrawing from school or a change in sociability.
Make sure you’re OK too
While it’s important to focus on the teen, Mairanz says it’s also crucial for parents to realize they need to focus on themselves.
“Whether it has to do with their own mental health issues or specifically around parenting, kids pick up a lot – so if a parent is really struggling, it’s important for them to deal with that,” she says. “Know that part of helping your teen is also helping yourself.”
For more information about mental health care resources and support, The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–10 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@nami.org.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), “Obesity rates have nearly tripled since 1975 and have increased almost five times in children and adolescents”. Obesity is a major risk factor for various noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, and various forms of cancer. Apart from this, it can also cause mental health issues, which in turn can lead to obesity.
As such, to raise awareness about the same, every year, World Obesity Day is observed on March 4.
Link between obesity and mental health
“People with mental health problems are two or three times more likely to develop obesity and other physical illnesses like diabetes, heart disease and arthritis,” says Tara Mehta, Clinical Psychologist, Department of Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Fortis Hospitals, Mumbai to indianexpress.com.
Obesity is a major risk factors for various noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and stroke, and various forms of cancer. (Pic source: Pixabay)
Mental health disorders like depression and anxiety can lead a person to form poor eating and lifestyle habits. “During this time, people may resort to food as a way of coping with their emotions. This over time can lead to weight gain causing obesity,” shares Mehta.
On the other hand, eating disorders can also lead one to develop an unhealthy relationship with food, where sometimes the person may over indulge or restrict what they consume to a great extent. “People suffering from depression often complain of low energy levels. This leads to a fairly sedentary lifestyle, reducing their motivation towards exercise, further leading to weight gain”.
Impact of obesity on mental health
Obesity has a direct impact on mental health. Excessive weight gain tends to negatively affect one’s sense of self-worth and self-esteem. “Depression and anxiety are commonly observed among obese people. They tend to isolate themselves socially, become conscious of what they eat in public, and lead restrictive lives,” explains Mehta.
She claims that obesity might also make it hard for individuals to perform physical tasks effectively. “Obese individuals tend to suffer from knee and ankle problems which limit their movements. Back pain is also commonly seen amongst them,” she says.
Obese individuals may also face problems with “social-occupational functioning, face loneliness and stigma in society thus impacting their overall quality of life.”
How to break this cycle
The treatment of obesity requires a holistic approach. According to WHO, the root cause of obesity in our society is a “complex mixture of dietary, lifestyle, genetic, psychological, sociocultural, economic and environmental factors.”
It suggests “restricting the marketing to children of food and drinks high in fats, sugar and salt; taxing sugary drinks, and providing better access to affordable, healthy food. In our cities and towns, we need to make space for safe walking, cycling, and recreation. We must teach our children healthy habits from early on.”
While speaking of solutions at individual level, Dr. Rajiv Kovil, Dr Kovils Diabetes and Zan Obesity Centre tells indianexpress.com, “We recommend a psychological assessment for people with excess body weight to diagnose conditions like eating disorders, or comfort eating. Then avoidance of situations or triggers to these needs to be imparted. Apart from this, the use of more positive language in our communication instead of body shaming and empathy counselling can help in overcoming the barrier.”
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Kids in the U.S. and around the world are in crisis.
More than 60{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} of children with depression don’t get any mental health treatment, according to Mental Health America. Pair that statistic with the fact that about 80{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} of the United States has a severe shortage of child psychiatrists, and the picture becomes clear: there is a growing mental health crisis in the United States and beyond.
That’s why CBS News and local CBS-owned television stations spent more than six months exploring the sources of the problem, as well as solutions across the country that could address it. This is a collection of the reporting by CBS journalists, committed to the well-being of our kids.
Documenting kids’ personal struggles
“Bring darkness into the light,” said filmmaker Noemi Weis.
That’s the goal of her documentary, “Connecting the Dots,” which features young people from around the world candidly talking about their struggles with mental health and the need to be supported.
“We need to listen in a way that is with open eyes and with providing a safe space, providing no judgment,” Weis told CBS News. “As much as we believe that we are in a world where we are all connected, the disconnect is huge. The isolation, the loneliness needed to be addressed.”
CBS News licensed the documentary for an exclusive release nationwide on its streaming platforms Wednesday night. The film will be available to view on demand following the streaming event.
The filmmaker created facilitator guides, in partnership with UNICEF, for youth, parents, educators, mental health professionals, and others to watch the documentary and discuss it.
Seeking mental health help
If you or someone you know is in crisis, get help from the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.
In addition, help is available from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI. Call the NAMI Helpline at 800-950-6264 or text “HelpLine” to 62640. There are more than 600 local NAMI organizations and affiliates across the country, many of which offer free support and education programs.
Read more from CBS News and local stations
CBS News will continue to update this page as we publish more stories about youth mental health in the coming days.
Fearing Daniel might harm himself, his parents took him to the only place they could: the emergency room. After seven days in the ER, Daniel was discharged; hospital staff felt he was no longer in danger. His parents disagreed. Read more
Young people are increasingly turning to social media platforms like TikTok to diagnose their mental health struggles and often getting misinformation. A California psychology professor has gained a million followers on TikTok by debunking wellness advice that could do more harm than good. Read more
Jamie Howard, senior clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute, joins “CBS Mornings” to discuss the youth mental health crisis and shares tips on how parents can have an open conversation with their teens about mental health and social media. Read more
In a city with near daily gun violence, the sound of police sirens and the roar of emergency vehicles often become a part of life in some high-crime areas, leaving the ear-piercing noise nearly ignored. For those young people who are becoming more of the victims of gun violence, their trauma seeps through and is ever-present. Read more
A tragedy in the San Francisco Bay Area was the spark a group of California teens needed to do something about breaking the stigma associated with youth mental illness and how to react in an emotional crisis. Read more
Taking a break from social media – even a short one – can have a powerful impact on the self-esteem of young women. Researchers at Colorado College conducted a study with teenage girls, and found that just three days off social media led to significant improvements in body image. Read more
On a piece of land on Chicago’s West Side, the community group BUILD Inc. has done just that. “We’ve got a whole new building,” said David Rodriguez, a BUILD member. “We’ve got a second floor finally.” Read more
Behind the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, and tucked away beneath another busy school day, there’s a break — 45 tranquil minutes in the basement of New Design High School on the Lower East Side.
It’s where kids forget about calculus and chemistry and clear their minds through yoga. Read more
Chris Hacker
Chris Hacker is an investigative data journalist at CBS News.
This story includes discussions of suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis, you can get help from the Suicide and Crisis lifeline by calling or texting 988.
While most kids his age were wrapping up their junior year of high school, Daniel was in a box.
“It was like I was sitting in a gigantic FedEx box being shipped somewhere,” he said. “But like, add one bed and the door had to be closed at all times.”
Daniel’s years of mental health struggles, stretching back into his early childhood, came to a head in early 2022. His often-uncontrollable emotional outbursts became unmanageable; he was “unraveling,” his parents said.
CBS News is only using the first names of former patients interviewed for this story to protect their privacy.
Fearing Daniel might harm himself, his parents took him to the only place they could: the emergency room. After seven days in the ER, Daniel was discharged; hospital staff felt he was no longer in danger. His parents disagreed.
“We were like no, no, no, he is so not ready,” his mom Kathe said. “We’ve been waiting and waiting, but he is not ready.”
Daniel’s therapist even wrote a letter to the hospital saying he wasn’t ready to be released. But the hospital said he needed to go home.
Ten days later, he was back in the ER — this time at another nearby hospital, where he would stay for 19 days.
“There’s barely any room in the [hospital] room to walk around,” Daniel, now 18, said. “So I was just sitting on my bed all of the time. I had some rough times there, like it was really difficult to, like, stay put, you know, and that’s what they expected [me] to do.”
Read more: Inside America’s youth mental health crisis
Instead of the intensive mental health care he needed, Daniel said he got very little help while in the room.
“Dan, rightfully so, he was like, what am I doing here?” Kathe said. “This is not help. You promised help. Where’s the help?”
“Severe shortage”
Stories similar to Daniel’s are growing more common in the U.S., fueled by a critical shortage of doctors, therapists and resources to address the needs of kids in crisis.
In Massachusetts, the number of kids landing in ERs for mental health treatment soared 200{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f}-400{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} during the pandemic. That same trend is reflected across the country: a 2021 study found the number of kids stuck in ERs awaiting treatment tripled between 2019 and 2021.
“I do think it is very bad,” said Dr. Muniya Khanna, research scientist at Children’s Hospital Philadelphia and a former faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Psychiatry. “Suicide is now the number two leading cause of death in children 10 to 24. And this trajectory is only getting worse after the COVID pandemic. And so, we are absolutely in a crisis.”
Experts say it’s a demand and supply issue: demand for mental health services has increased after the pandemic and the supply of trained staff hasn’t increased enough to fulfill the needs.
Forty U.S. states and Puerto Rico all have “severe” shortages of child psychiatrists, according to data from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) analyzed by CBS News. Only the District of Columbia reported having enough child and adolescent psychiatrists to meet AACAP standards.
RELATED: Half of all Texas school districts have no mental health services
Amid this lack of formal mental health treatment options, ERs have become the last and only option for many families, according to numerous mental health experts interviewed by CBS News.
“Kids languish for days, weeks, sometimes even over a year in children’s hospitals around the country,” said Zach Zaslow, vice president of advocacy and community health at Children’s Hospital Colorado. “This is not just a Colorado problem, and it happens because there’s nowhere else that’s safe for them to go.”
In Colorado, Michaela, who grew up in foster homes, told CBS News she tried get a special therapist to address her anger, anxiety and depression nearly a dozen times.
“I would be crying out for help,” Michaela said. “I would say I need support. And it wouldn’t happen until I came to a point where it was too late to really come back and not make a bad decision that in the end would hurt me.”
Michaela said she tried to hurt herself, including several suicide attempts, over those years. She said the system in its current form does not do enough for young people until they reach a crisis point.
“I think it’s really hard to get into a good therapist or just a therapist in general,” Michaela said. “It doesn’t matter if they’re good or bad.”
Michaela said she had a total of eight ER visits for mental health crises, and often left the ER without seeing a therapist. The few times she did meet with a mental health expert, she said her therapy was cut short.
“It did cause me to have to go back [to the ER] again like less than a year later just because I didn’t get the help that I needed,” said Michaela. “And I think it was partly because I left too early.”
Michaela, who is now 20, said she is proud that she’s “beat the odds” and survived. She now sits on a youth advisory board as part of a partnership between the University of Colorado and Children’s Hospital Colorado.
“It definitely made me feel like all of that pain and suffering that I had to go through wasn’t a waste,” said Michaela. “Because now I can be the voice of power for so many other young people who are stuck in the same situation that I was and give them hope that I didn’t have then.”
A revolving door at ERs
Experts told CBS News the use of ERs as stopgap mental health treatment measures simply doesn’t work.
“For anybody who’s been in an emergency department for more than a few hours, it is not an ideal place to be,” said Dr. Kevin Carney, an emergency room physician at Children’s Hospital Colorado.
Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, where Daniel stayed for 19 days, acknowledged the problem, saying in a statement to CBS News that “shortages [of proper mental health treatment options] have forced youth in crisis — and their families — to turn to their local emergency departments where ongoing capacity challenges may mean waiting for days or weeks for appropriate inpatient care to become available.”
For kids in crisis, ER visits can make matters even worse.
A December 2022 American Academy of Pediatrics study found more than a quarter of children who went to ERs for mental health issues were hospitalized — either in ERs or in mental health facilities — within six months. And about 26.5{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} were back in the ER within a week.
Dr. Sandra DeJong, a psychiatrist and the secretary with the American Psychiatric Association, said if kids don’t get proper care early, their condition can rapidly get worse.
“My fear is that we really have significant risk for the future,” DeJong said. “Because if we don’t address the needs of particularly young people now, then they are going to grow up to be people who are diminished and don’t have the capacity to function in the way that they could have if they had gotten the treatment.
“And frankly, they’re going to be expensive to care for because if they go untreated, there are situations that are likely to get worse and then they will need higher intensity care. It’s just not an effective way to approach the problem.”
Meanwhile, more and more kids find themselves in crisis. Suicide attempts by teen girls jumped more than 51{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} between 2019 and 2021, according to a study by the CDC. And a recent study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics found the number of suicide attempts by overdose reported to poison control centers more than doubled between 2000 and 2020.
The number of kids with mental health issues coming to the ER “has been unrelenting,” said Zaslow.
“And it’s not acceptable,” he added. “It means ultimately, at the end of the day, that there are kids waiting for those beds every single minute as soon as one frees up.”
Dr. Taylor Louden, medical director at Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, said that in recent years he’s seen more and more young patients come into his ER for mental health problems.
“We are seeing even younger and younger kids, 8-, 9-year-olds — ages of my kids,” said Louden. “Some are expressing that they want to hurt themselves that they want to die and it’s really tough to hear.”
Not only are there more kids showing up in ERs, Louden said, but they’re staying longer, too.
“No one should ever be in an ER longer than a few hours,” he said. “That means that the system is broken, in my mind.”
Inside an ER’s psych room
04:04
“It’s not acceptable”
Numerous experts CBS News interviewed said serious investments are needed to increase the mental health resources available to kids in crisis.
CBS News went to the person in charge of the system in the U.S.: Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, who said “we have to do a lot” to fix the problem.
“It wasn’t until recently that you could get an insurer who actually gave you access to mental health services,” Becerra said. “And we still have a system where mental health is what you get at a primary care physician when you go to a family doctor.
“That’s got to change. Mental health, it’s got to be part of primary health, not something where you get a referral to a specialist.”
When asked about children getting stuck in ERs rather than proper mental health treatment facilities, Becerra said it was “not acceptable.”
“It’s not care,” Becerra said. “It’s housing them until we can get somebody who could give them professional help. They’re crying out and shame on us that we haven’t prepared.”
Becerra pointed out that several states and the federal government are investing billions of dollars into mental health care. And last summer, the Biden White House announced $300 million to expand mental health services in schools.
“That’s where the president last year in the State of the Union and again, double down this year has said, Congress, we’ve got to step up, we’ve got to finish the job of making sure that mental health is treated like any other aspect of health,” Becerra said.
But doctors Khanna and DeJong both said much of this federal spending comes in the form of one-time grants that will eventually expire.
“Now it’s really time to start investing time and resources on all levels for making that happen more on a regular basis,” said Khanna.
Attracting more people to work in youth mental health must be part of the equation, DeJong said.
“You can build all the beds and clinics in the world,” DeJong said. “But if you don’t have enough people to staff them, which is a real problem right now, we’re not going to meet the needs that we’re facing.”
Secretary Becerra agreed.
“You just got to put your money where your mouth is. And President Joe Biden is trying to put his money there,” Becerra said. “We need now the partnership with Congress to make it happen.”
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra speaks about youth mental health crisis
06:53
Some aren’t waiting on the federal government to help, instead trying new approaches in attempts to address this crisis and meet young people where they are.
One of those approaches comes in the form of a youth advisory group at Children’s Hospital Colorado. The advisory group consists of teenagers who regularly meet to give advice to therapists and hospital officials about how to meet the needs of young people.
Another new approach: construction of a new, first-of-its-kind facility at the Cherry Creek School District outside Denver that will combine a mental health medical facility and a school when it’s completed in the fall of 2023.
When kids in crisis leave ERs
Finding help after a hospital stay can be even more challenging.
The Academy of Pediatrics study found just 31.2{bf0515afdcaddba073662ceb89fbb62b6b1bf123143c0e06b788e1946e8c353f} of children had a mental health follow-up visit within seven days of leaving the hospital and only about half had a mental health follow-up with a specialist within 30 days of leaving the hospital.
“I think what is very distressing about this mental health crisis that we’re facing is that while we very much take as part of our responsibility to make sure that we are keeping kids safe and stabilizing them when they’re in crisis or have harmed themselves,” Dr. Carney said. “The very hard thing is knowing that at that point I can’t do anything else for that child.”
Dr. Glenda Wrenn Gordon knows those statistics firsthand: she and her 18-year-old son lived them.
Wrenn Gordon said even though she’s an Atlanta-area psychiatrist herself, she was surprised by the effort she had to put in to find help for her son in crisis after she got him to the ER. She said she thought she knew what to do, but still found the system of finding and getting care post-hospital visit to be daunting.
“We moved very quickly through the ER because I knew exactly what to say and how to say it to get us where we needed to go,” she said. “I was extremely frustrated for how hard it was. I was thinking about these other families. What hope do they have and what it must be like?”
When asked what she fears most if the system is not changed, Wrenn Gordon was blunt.
“We will continue to bury our children,” she said.
Atlanta psychiatrist struggles to find help for her son
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If you or someone you know is in crisis, get help from the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.
In addition, help is available from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI. Call the NAMI Helpline at 800-950-6264 or text “HelpLine” to 62640. There are more than 600 local NAMI organizations and affiliates across the country, many of which offer free support and education programs.
