Children’s health: Is your child struggling mentally? It may be time to reach out.
Life can appear extremely confusing and difficult for young people, especially so for the roughly 5 million 12- to 17-year-olds in the United States with a diagnosed behavioral and mental health condition.
These conditions challenge our youth in ways that make them feel anxious, angry and isolated. But here at Ascension Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital, one of our core tenets in working with kids and teens is to help them understand that they are not alone in how they feel and what they experience.
As caregivers, when those we care for start to struggle, it feels like there may not be much help out there.
But even in extreme cases of behavioral and mental health issues, there are support efforts from providers like our own that can help support families through these challenges. Services like intensive outpatient programs and partial hospital programs are two of the ways you can integrate regular behavioral healthcare services into your child’s routine.
These programs involve three to six hours of behavioral healthcare programming for several weeks with therapists, and support groups with young people experiencing similar challenges. The care team tailors everything to the individual needs of a teen or adolescent.
Depending on an adolescent’s needs, the care team incorporates specialty groups that center around issues like grief/loss, substance use, school anxiety, conflict resolution and communication. This affords adolescents the opportunity to meet others with similar experiences and provides valuable peer reflection.
The hospital also coordinates with school personnel to help ensure instructional time is incorporated so that children do not fall behind and are able to reenter academic and home life successfully. School liaisons are also present, and they advocate for the teen when they are ready to return to school to ensure their academic and social-emotional needs are met.
Adolescents and adult family members also participate in family therapy sessions to help inform them about their communication and conflict resolution styles so that the family unit can better understand and support each other.
The modern age has complicated so much for these young people as well. Many of these kids go through life believing everyone is OK except for them based on what they see on social media. Our team and these programs aim to teach them how to handle negative thoughts and emotions, make healthy choices and realize they are not alone.
If you are starting to notice that your child is seriously struggling with any mental or behavioral health issue, do not hesitate to reach out to a professional.
• Children’s health is a continuing series. This column was provided by Cecelia Horan, Psy.D, Director of Child & Adolescent Services at Ascension Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital.