There’s both good and bad news on the status of kids’ mental health in research just published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The good news is that more kids are getting help for their emotional and behavioral problems, with 13.2 percent of children receiving mental health services in 2012 compared to only 9.2 percent in 1996.
The bad news is that only 44.6 percent of children with severe mental health problems received any professional assistance.
There is no single or simple reason why more than half of our kids with serious problems received no professional support. This may be due to a shortage of pediatric mental health specialists, parental financial issues, problems with getting off from work to attend sessions, or the refusal of kids to participate in therapy.
However, here are the top three reasons I’ve heard from parents.
- “I don’t know how to find a good therapist.” Many parents are confused about how to identify the appropriate professional needed by their children. Should they go to a counselor, psychologist, psychiatrist, or social worker? How can you obtain information about the training and skill of such a person?I advise parents to start off with a discussion with