Children’s Mental Health Cry for Help
The growing cry for children’s mental health was heard again in Madison, Wisconsin this week when a 15 year old student took the life of a teacher, a fellow student, and herself, along with wounding others, some with life threatening injuries.
As we struggle with a national shortage of mental health professionals, we’ve seen a 30% increase since COVID in Emergency Department visits from children due to mental health concerns, and suicide is now one of the leading causes of death among our youth.
So, we’ll ask once again. Are you listening?
As an industry, it’s time we take a different approach to traditional mental health therapy for children. Given the national shortage of providers, in-office therapy simply takes too long to access, especially in rural areas. We need to respond faster, regardless of location, and meet our younger patients where they live. Online.
In an effort to uncover new and effective youth mental health solutions, a ‘Shark Tank’ style competition was recently hosted by the Children’s Hospital Association in Chicago. The room was filled with true empathy, dedication, and an authentic desire to make a difference in the lives of children in need of mental health resources.
Various startups and more established industry leaders offered their fresh approach solutions to an esteemed group of executives representing children’s hospitals from across the country. As one of the leading finalists, our team from Precise Behavioral Health was honored to present a hybrid approach, which combines digital therapeutics with a large provider network that’s been proven to effectively meet and treat children digitally.
Our proprietary SMARTT approach of Screen, Measure, Assess, Refer, Triage, and Treat, helps accelerate delivery of appropriate care to youth in need. In a virtual fashion where children are most comfortable. When you’ve already heard enough and are ready to take action to reduce the growing mental health crisis facing today’s youth, we’d like to be your partner and deliver care that works – when and where it
is needed most.
