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Adolescence Impediments To Accessing Mental Health Services
“My 15-year old son loses his cool when is told ‘No’. He sometime takes risks that could result in serious harm to him or others, or refuses to talk to her for a long time when angry.” Counselors often hear similar problems from parents who become concerned about their adolescents’ behaviors such as irritability, low self-confidence or lack of motivation.
Some parents may blame their children’s behaviors on external factors like “bad schools” or “wrong crowds” their children hangout with. Although we may observe some truth in those ideas, there are other factors that we rarely consider in our evaluation. Factors like negative family environment, traumas of childhood and parents’ lack of information about mental illness or affordability to access health care services, are just a few examples. In his book Psychological Disorders and Their Treatment, Dr. James S. Gordon says, “Adolescents are equally impacted by the environmental, socioeconomic, and psychological stressors that affect adults.”
While stigma attached to mental illness plays a significant role, lack of resources has curtailed parents’ access to mental health services. Some parents report that an average waiting list to see a clinician for their children’s mental health assessment may be as long as six months.
The most current report available on adolescent mental health research in 2016, released by The National Institutes of Health, reveals that 70% of adolescents in the U.S. diagnosed with severe impairment have depressive episodes. Among this group, 60% does not receive any mental health treatment and an estimated 3.1 million adolescents aged 12 to17 in the U.S. had at least one major depressive episode. This number represented 12.8% of the U.S. population age 12 to 17. It should be noted that the prevalence of major depressive episodes was higher among female adolescents (19.4%) compared to adolescent males (6.4%).
How To Recognize The Signs
Of Decompensation?
Here are some ideas:
What are the triggers?
Does he/she is irritable with no apparent reason?
How did your teenager “relieve” herself/himself?
Does she/he talk about being a burden on the family?
Are you suspicious of substance abuse?
In the current special report from Harvard, anger, social isolation, loss of interest in activities, shouting or crying and hypersensitivity to rejection, are some examples to consider.
