Taking Action on Youth Mental Health

Nationally, symptoms of mental illness in youth are on the rise, prompting mounting calls for attention and action around adolescent mental health. What’s driving these issues in America’s youth? And how can we ensure they’re getting the help they need?

The statistics paint a grim picture. Persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness jumped 40% for high school students between 2009–2019, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey. During the same time, 1 in 6 youth also reported making a suicide plan, up some 44%.

While there’s no single cause behind soaring youth mental health problems, the growing use of digital media, increasing academic pressure and anxiety over racism, gun violence, climate change and economic uncertainty, among other factors, likely play a role. To put it another way, teens and their developing brains are no match for the stresses and strains of our times.

Melanie and Greg Gehrt are grateful for their daughter's treatment at Menninger.

The COVID-19 pandemic has only deepened the growing mental health crisis, doubling rates of depression and anxiety among adolescents.

“We’re in a unique time,” says social worker Mychal Riley, LCSW-S, who oversees Menninger 360, one of The Clinic’s community integration programs. “Things we know that are really basic and important for young people, like having a set routine, having social relationships, exercise, getting out and getting exposure to new things; our current environment makes it all harder.”

To help teens in trouble, Menninger has strengthened programs that connect vulnerable adolescents to lifesaving and life-changing mental health care. Here’s a closer look at how we’re taking action on youth mental health.

EXPANDING ACCESS TO TREATMENT

Created in May 2020, Menninger 360 for Adolescents offers families flexible and accessible mental health care. The program’s “hospital without walls” approach provides teens with wraparound support, treatment and rehabilitation directly in their homes, communities and schools, making it ideal for families with busy schedules and for parents who don’t feel comfortable sending their child away to long-term residential care or a wilderness program.

Another option for adolescents to work on managing their mental health is Menninger's Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), launched in June 2021. Over eight weeks, treatment includes group therapy, individual therapy, family therapy, a medication consultation and support and coaching for parents.

Playing “Five Crowns” on Sunday game nights is a favorite way the Gehrt family spends time together.

“Teens who are in a crisis need a jump start,” says program manager Mallory Mincberg, MEd, LPC. “With an IOP, kids can get some of the same benefits as inpatient or residential care while staying in school. Additionally, they get to practice the skills they're learning in the IOP in their everyday lives.”

Parents Melanie and Greg Gehrt say the program made all the difference in their 16-year-old daughter’s transition from inpatient care at Menninger back to daily life as a high school student. The couple checked their daughter into The Clinic after her anxiety and suicidal thoughts, triggered by the stress and isolation of the pandemic, reached a crisis point. At Menninger, she stabilized and learned critical coping skills, regaining some of the spark she had lost.

Wanting to see their daughter’s progress continue, the Gehrts signed her up for the IOP after her discharge. The next two months were a blur of activity according to Greg. “IOP — I wasn’t understanding the ‘I’ portion going in. This is intensive.” The family emerged with new knowledge and skills to manage future mental health challenges.

“It was so important for her journey, to go from inpatient to the intensive outpatient program, and to have that continuation of care and focus,” Melanie adds.

“This is a marathon … and we’re just learning to pace ourselves and run along with her.”

IMPROVING OUTCOMES WITH RESEARCH

While in treatment, teens benefit from Menninger’s robust research program focused on advancing understanding of mental illness and accelerating new evidence-based treatments.

Menninger researchers continue to grow what has become one of the world’s largest and most diverse collections of mental health data for research. Data is collected on mental health symptoms, including anxiety, depression, sleep and suicide risk, from both patients and their parents to get a more holistic understanding of the patient’s experience.

“It gives the child or adolescent a voice in their treatment. There may be something that they’re not comfortable sharing with their treatment team, but they’re willing to put it on an iPad or a self-reported paper,” says Director of Research Michelle Patriquin, PhD, ABPP.

Clinicians use the data to track patients’ progress and customize their treatment. The data also lays the foundation for research studies, like Menninger’s development of a new wearable technology called PsychVitals that monitors vital signs and helps reduce the risk of suicide. In another published study, Menninger researchers discovered that adolescents and adults who admitted to The Clinic during the pandemic had more severe mental health symptoms, a finding that highlights why mental health needs must not be overlooked during a global health crisis.

ERADICATING STIGMA

Today’s teens are more open about mental illness, but stigma and misinformation persist. In Menninger’s psychoeducational groups, parents can find support and answers to questions they may have been reluctant to ask.

“The parent education part helped us to better understand mental illness and the ways that we can positively impact our daughter’s experiences,” says Melanie.

Armed with new insight, the Gehrts say they feel hopeful for the future. Their daughter’s anxiety and suicidal thoughts have dramatically decreased. Thanks to Menninger, Greg says, she also has coping strategies “in her back pocket” and support systems to help her weather the challenges that may lie ahead.

“The reality is that this isn’t a virus she’s just going to recover from. This is a marathon, as they told us many times in our sessions. And we’re just learning to pace ourselves and run along with her.”

Your IMPACT

HELPING ADOLESCENTS IN NEED

Funded by donors, the Patient Assistance Fund helps close the gap for lower income families who need Menninger’s specialized care but fall above the financial threshold for charity care (income less than 300% of federal poverty guidelines). Last year, eight local adolescents in need received treatment for free or reduced cost, thanks to donors’ generosity.