Suicidal teens need services

When I think of the lack of mental health services in our communities it seems we like to be reactive in our country – we keep the services that would help avoid teens becoming suicidal at bay, while paying for hospitalizations after the fact. A new survey confirms my general understanding of a reactive system more than a proactive system. However, the bigger picture it painted is rather scary.

According to the article, suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among teens. Yet, this research found that only 13% of suicidal teens received mental health care in the year prior. Even more concerning to me was that 86% of the teens looked at saw their primary health care provider during that time, and not only were they not seeing a therapist, but only 7% were tried on anti-depressant medications. While there are a lot of reasons one may avoid putting a teen on anti-depressants it is surprising to see that and no services. These were seriously depressed teens after all.

As always, this was a snapshot piece of research. It examined a group of youth who had a particular type of health insurance in a single community. However, the data it shows is similar to past research, and the point made is important – the structure to access mental health services is flawed and needs to be fixed to ensure better and equal access to all.

It also shows more awareness is needed by primary care physicians on suicidal teens. Oftentimes when something is “off” with our children we take them to a physician. We rely on that physician to determine the next best step. If that is therapy then steps should be taken to help ensure it happens. We cannot overlook the fact that therapy is often too costly for many. Even if it only costs what a normal medical co-pay costs, you have to see a therapist a lot more than you do a doctor, so the costs are not comparable. A $20 co-pay 3 – 4 times a year is nothing compared to weekly co-pays for that amount. While the research did not address this, families need to be aware that there is a cost to getting help so it is important to plan for that.