… It’s Our Responsibility 

By Fionn Hyland, Mental Health Partnerships Advocacy Intern

Young people are our future. And it is our responsibility to ensure they have the right tools and resources to keep that future bright. 

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, 66,000 children are considered potentially at risk for having a mental health disorder, and there are only 60 qualified psychiatrists to provide treatment.

In Pennsylvania, we rank thirteenth in the nation for lower prevalence of mental illness and higher rates of access to care by Mental Health America. However, the reality behind these numbers reveals significant challenges:

• Over 20% of young people aged 12-17 report experiencing at least one major depressive episode (MDE) in the past year, amounting to 193,000 youth.

• Shockingly, 53.7% of those youth with an MDE did not receive any mental health services, highlighting a critical gap in our healthcare system.

• Among those who did receive treatment, 64.5% found the counseling or treatment helpful, underscoring the importance of accessible mental health services.

• Alarmingly, 13.46% of youth reported having serious thoughts of suicide, affecting 127,000 young individuals.

• Additionally, 8.55% of youth struggled with substance use disorder in the past year, impacting 80,000 young lives.

• Furthermore, 40,000 youth with private insurance faced barriers as their plans did not cover mental or emotional problems, representing 8.2% of insured youth.

Even in a state with a strong ranking, these statistics show that Pennsylvania's youth are still struggling significantly with mental health issues. We must continue to advocate for better access to mental health services to ensure that every young person receives the care they need.

My Must-Have Mental Health Policy Resources:

• Tool 1: 

• Google Alert: Set Google alerts for mental health issues that are important to you. This will provide you with a daily or weekly update on trending national, state, and local issues that you can read about. 

• Tool 2:

• University Libraries or Community Libraries: These can be helpful places to research specific topics you are studying. Fun Fact - Librarians are a wealth of knowledge and can assist you.

• Tool 3:

• National Nonprofits: Organizations such as Mental Health America or the National Council for Mental Wellbeing focus on data and trends that provide insight into mental health. 

• Tool 4:

• Federal and State Agencies: Agencies, such as SAMHSA - Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services, are crucial to finding reliable information to help you identify research topics. 

• Tool 5:

• Beware: Social media, such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Youtube, can be a tool, but you risk sharing unreliable information if you do not fact-check through credible sources.

Secret Tool: Stay up-to-date on your elected official's legislation and press releases. They can provide information on the immediate ways they are addressing the crisis. 

• How are states innovating for their youth mental health?

  • Look no further than here in PA, State Rep. Mike Schlossberg's legislation to ensure more robust mental health screening in Pennsylvania schools, HB 2311. The plan is to implement mental health screening for grades 6 through 12. Each school will have to apply to participate in the program, with the option of hiring qualified staff or working with an external vendor. Students will be given the option to opt out of the screening. The intended goal is to be proactive by catching struggles early and addressing them; hopefully, students will go on to be better prepared. 

  • Across the Delaware River, New Jersey Assemblyman Raj Mukherji's legislation, A2328, ensures that teenagers ages 13 can seek mental health treatment without parental consent. This can potentially extend to consent for specific surgical procedures. Specifically if they believe they have a sexually transmitted disease or if a doctor thinks the minor was sexually assaulted. The intended goal is to save lives. The hope is that by giving teenagers this option, more teenagers will seek treatment when struggling, which will alleviate the youth mental health crisis. It also gives teens more access to behavioral health treatments. 

  • Over in the Big Apple, Governor Hochul's legislation, A 8148, ensures that kids will be restricted from accessing the addictive features of social media. Studies have shown that these addictive qualities keep children on the phone longer. Addictive feeds are correlated with an increase in the amount of time children and young adults spend on social media and significant adverse mental health outcomes for minors. The intended goal is to decrease children's time on social media, hopefully reducing the adverse mental health outcomes of spending too much time on social media. 

Our responsibility is to ensure teens and adolescents have the tools and support they need to cope with their daily stressors and mental health. The best way to take on this responsibility is to educate ourselves on a topic, find reliable information, verify our social media information, and support legislation that can make a difference in the youth mental health crisis.

Stay educated, verify information, and support effective legislation to combat the youth mental health crisis.

About Fionn: Fionn is a first-generation American who is studying psychology at Temple University. They are passionate about ensuring everyone has the mental health resources they need. Currently, they have taken a specific interest in the youth mental health crisis, especially when it comes to empowering our schools to have the tools to address the problems their students struggle with daily.