Episode 10: How Do We Help Kids In Crisis?

There is no denying the mental health crisis that is enveloping our kids today. Even before the pandemic, 13 percent of adolescents reported having a major depressive episode, which is 60 percent higher than it was in 2007. That’s eight million children aged 3-17 suffering from anxiety, behavioral disorders, or depression. 

Remember back when we were young? Twenty or 30 years ago, our parents worried about us going out and drinking, smoking, dabbling in what we could get our hands on, and sex of course. But today, those common concerns have been replaced by issues that are a lot more difficult to understand and be in control of. 

Mental health disorders amongst young people have become so concerning that the Surgeon General issued a rare advisory to address the need for resources in schools and at home. Even before the pandemic, kids were spiraling. Post-pandemic, there is a lot of trauma to unpack and very little understanding of how to deal with it in a way to help our kids before it’s too late. So where are we now and what can we do? Let’s find out. 

Here with us on the show today is Jeff Vanderploeg, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Child Health and Development Institute, a non-profit that works to identify, support, and promote effective health and mental health innovations in partnership with doctors, government, schools, and state agencies. Jeff himself has a central role in developing the systems, practices, and policies for the prevention and treatment of mental health conditions among children and adolescents and their families and we are very grateful to have him on the show today