Children’s Mental Health
Mental health has become more acknowledged over the years as depression and anxiety rates are on the rise. While adults are able to process their emotions and thoughts with structured guidance via therapy or counseling, there is still a gap within healthcare when we look at children’s mental health. Anxiety, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are among the mental, emotional, or behavioral conditions that affect nearly 1 in 5 children. Early diagnosis and therapy have been proven to be beneficial. However, accessing pediatric mental healthcare may be difficult for many families.
Behavioral Health Integration (BHI) is one way to improve access to care. This is a collaborative approach that allows primary care physicians and behavioral health specialists to communicate better and work together with patients and families, using a systematic and cost-effective approach to provide patient-centered care. Primary care providers usually refer patients to psychiatrists and other behavioral health specialists for treatment. But it can take months to get an appointment, which prolongs a child’s suffering and can potentially make symptoms worse. Behavioral Health Integration works to close this gap by empowering providers to support their young patients who have mental health needs.
The environment of the doctor’s office itself can be reformed to highlight mental health as an important part of a child’s overall well-being. Primary care should cover behavioral health, as there is a clear overlap between physical and mental health. In fact, over the past two decades, a significant amount of resources have been invested in creating effective and high-quality clinical care for chronic illness management, acute medicine, and preventive care. However, the integration of primary care and behavioral health care has not been consistently practiced on a large scale. Therefore, it is crucial to specifically apply the well-known standards of good healthcare to the field of behavioral health integration. It is up to the next generation of medical experts to utilize an inclusive approach to assess behavioral health.
Another area that can be utilized is the school setting. While schools have received federal funding to support students’ wellbeing, behavioral healthcare professionals have been looking for additional long-term solutions to address mental health issues. These solutions range from incorporating mental health into school curricula to educating teachers in psychologically-based prevention strategies to support students. School-based health centers (SBHCs) are an ideal setting for integrated behavioral health models to meet the needs of students. Many children and adolescents receive mental health services at school, resulting in a continuum of collaborative care that improves children's mental health, physical health, and educational achievement. Schools can be a safe, confidential, and de-stigmatized environment that allows for the establishment of ongoing relationships between the provider, student, and family members to promote well-being throughout childhood and adolescence.
Bringing mental health conversations to the table is the first step towards progress. There are so many innovative and simple ways to support one another, and it is time we view behavioral and mental health as a valid part of one’s overall health and well-being.
