CEO of large TX nonprofit children's mental health treatment center echoes US Surgeon General's advisory that kids' struggles are "uniquely hard to navigate"

SAN ANTONIO, Dec. 17, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- On December 7, 2021, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a strongly worded advisory on the urgent need to address the nation's youth mental health crisis "further exposed by COVID-19 pandemic." It is filled with alarming statistics that Texas children's hospital Clarity Child Guidance Center is experiencing in real time. Clarity Child Guidance Center is the only nonprofit in South Texas providing a continuum of mental health care for children ages 3-17 and their families, to manage mental health conditions ranging from ADHD and anxiety to suicidal ideation, bipolar disorder and/or schizophrenia.

Over the last two years, Clarity CGC has experienced:

• 159% increase in the use of Psychiatric Emergency Services beds designed to provide immediate intervention in a crisis and hopefully avoid a hospitalization. A psychiatric evaluation and family therapy services are offered with the Crisis Services Department, and the child can stay up to 48 hours.
• 65% increase in patients admitted to an inpatient unit that have not had previous treatment at Clarity
• 27% increase in inpatient admissions
• 8% increase in the average daily census on the inpatient units
• 19% increase in the number of patients admitted and placed on suicide risk precautions

In Clarity's internal discussions, the youth mental health crisis has largely been attributed to the impact of remote learning. High achieving kids are struggling with the impact of being behind academically. Kids that were struggling academically pre-pandemic are even more behind. This is without adding in the complications to social development the last two years have thrown in.

"What we have been experiencing at Clarity is a case study for what the surgeon general is talking about," says Jessica Knudsen, LCSW, CEO and President of Clarity CGC. "The anxiety disorders we are seeing are spread between social anxiety of returning to school, anxiety related to school performance, and anxiety related to the pandemic at large. However, we can help give kids and families tools to bring hope back into their daily lives."

"What can you do to help reverse this crisis? If you are a parent, talk to your children about this topic. If they won't talk to you—which is potentially all teenagers—find another trusted adult or a professional therapist to step in," adds Knudsen. "If you want to help as a member of the community that agrees with Dr. Murthy that we need to 'step up for our children and their families in their moment of need,' donate your time and resources to any non-profit helping our country's youth. We know personally that grants and generous donors allow us to help everyone in need of care, regardless of their family's ability to pay or if they have insurance."

HIGHLIGHTS FROM U.S. SURGEON GENERAL'S ADVISORY:

• Mental health challenges in children, adolescents, and young adults are real and widespread. Even before the pandemic, an alarming number of young people struggled with feelings of helplessness, depression, and thoughts of suicide — and rates have increased over the past decade.
• The COVID-19 pandemic further altered their experiences at home, school, and in the community, and the effect on their mental health has been devastating.
• The pandemic era's unfathomable number of deaths, pervasive sense of fear, economic instability, and forced physical distancing from loved ones, friends, and communities have exacerbated the unprecedented stresses young people already faced. The future wellbeing of our country depends on how we support and invest in the next generation.
• Before the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health challenges were the leading cause of disability and poor life outcomes in young people, with up to 1 in 5 children ages 3 to 17 in the U.S. having a mental, emotional, developmental, or behavioral disorder.
• Additionally, from 2009 to 2019, the share of high school students who reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness increased by 40%, to more than 1 in 3 students.
• Suicidal behaviors among high school students also increased during the decade preceding COVID, with 19% seriously considering attempting suicide, a 36% increase from 2009 to 2019, and about 16% having made a suicide plan in the prior year, a 44% increase from 2009 to 2019.
• Between 2007 and 2018, suicide rates among youth ages 10-24 in the U.S. increased by 57%, and early estimates show more than 6,600 suicide deaths among this age group in 2020.
• The pandemic disrupted the lives of children and adolescents, such as in-person schooling, in-person social opportunities with peers and mentors, access to health care and social services, food, housing, and the health of their caregivers.
• The pandemic's negative impacts most heavily affected those who were vulnerable to begin with, such as youth with disabilities, racial and ethnic minorities, LGBTQ+ youth, low-income youth, youth in rural areas, youth in immigrant households, youth involved with the child welfare or juvenile justice systems, and homeless youth.
• Our obligation to act is not just medical—it's moral. I believe that, coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have an unprecedented opportunity as a country to rebuild in a way that refocuses our identity and common values, puts people first, and strengthens our connections to each other.

MORE ON CLARITY:    Fact sheet on Clarity is available here. Founded in 1886, Clarity CGC offers a stand-alone mental health hospital and specialized inpatient/outpatient treatment for children, with the region's largest concentration of child and adolescent psychiatrists on its 8-acre campus. Clarity CGC's continuum of treatment, intervention and prevention services include (but are not limited to):

• Psychiatric emergency care in 24/7 Crisis Services area;
• Inpatient treatment for children in crisis and/or children experiencing long-term complex problems;
• First Step appointments help caregivers recognize when a child's behavior escalates from age-appropriate challenges to mental health disturbances requiring professional help;
• Partial hospitalization (day treatment) during daytime; children return home in the evening to practice coping skills outside of the treatment setting;
• Outpatient therapies, including individual, group and family sessions;
• Wraparound services such as case management, medication management, education support and an innovative Play with Purpose™ therapeutic art and active play program.

Media Contact

Jeanne Albrecht, Clarity Child Guidance Center, 2103929047, [email protected]

SOURCE Clarity Child Guidance Center