Hindsight is 20/20. futuresTHRIVE does not want to look back on this time in history and say that “we tried” and it just wasn’t good enough. We don’t have to patchwork solutions for the growing amount of suffering. We don’t have to apply adult solutions to developing children. The tie is now to use the current science for NEW mental health assessment, education, and treatment. We know enough about how youth and how they develop that they can benefit from appropriate solutions for anxiety, depression, stress, and many other mental health concerns using 21st Century methods.
Article highlights include:
- “Data from the CDC show that since the start of the pandemic, mental health-related emergency department visits increased by 31 percent for 12-17-year-olds, and 1 in 4 young adults contemplated suicide.”
- “Absent serious action, increased demand and referrals for mental health services will continue to be met with a patchwork system of mental health resources that, if even available, are often difficult to navigate, lack cultural competency, and are not informed or designed with the perspectives and leadership of young people.”
- “We cannot just build more of the same when our current systems and approaches fail so many. To truly discover what works best, we must work directly with young people as partners and leaders, including those who have created programs, those who have received traditional services, and those first looking for support.”
- “By integrating resources into the areas that youth and young adults report are most helpful, like friends, sports teams, or their online communities, we can ensure that resources come to young people instead of making young people come to traditional resources.”