Providing mental health resources for teens in school

John MacPhee, The Jed Foundation Executive Director & CEO, joins Yahoo Finance to discuss the importance of mental health programs and resources within schools.

Video Transcript

KRISTIN MYERS: But I want to turn, now, to mental health. It is Mental Health Awareness Month. And mental health isn't just important for adults. It is also important for children. And with so many children isolated during this pandemic, let's chat a little bit about their needs.

We're joined now by John McAfee-- MacPhee-- excuse me, John-- executive director and CEO of the Jed Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to preventing suicide in teens and young adults. You are not the security company McAfee.

So let's start here. How have students really been struggling or dealing with some of these mental health issues throughout this pandemic as so many of them have not been able to go to school, interact with their friends, see their family members, and have just been stuck at home? Have we been seeing mental health issues really on the rise and spiking in some of our teens and young adults?

JOHN MACPHEE: Yes. It's been a challenge. As you noted, there's been less ability to interact socially, which is very important for youth development. So young people have been isolated, disconnected. Many have experienced the loss of loved ones, financial pressures in their houses. Their parents may have lost loved ones.

Um. So there's been a-- there's been a variety of pressures and stressors that have challenged the mental health of young people. And it's important for us to recognize that that impact has not been equal. Some young people have struggled significantly more than others.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: John, I was looking at some stats, and they're-- they're not super encouraging. We know that rates of anxiety and depression and suicide in children and young adults was on the rise even before the pandemic. But only 20% of kids actually have access to mental health care. What can the private sector do, the public sector do to try and raise that number?

JOHN MACPHEE: Yeah. This is a very, very important point. So first, most mental ill-- illness arises, first shows itself, in the teenage and the young adult years. And it actually takes 8 to 10 years from the emergence of the first symptoms to an accurate diagnosis in care. All right. So it's critical that we shrink that window

And schools represent an enormous opportunity to do that, right, because schools are the real-life systems where the most young people are. And they're the place that the majority of young people who are getting mental health care are getting it, right, and are being noticed.

So what can we do as businesses and as citizens? We need to make sure that, first, we're prioritizing mental health. We're talking about it, right? We're destigmatizing it.

And then we're making sure that the schools in our communities are places that have a plan, a comprehensive plan and approach for mental health, and that that plan is resourced so that the students there are getting the right kind of training and skill building around protective factors like-- like life skills development, resilience, and that there are systems in place to notice if they're struggling, right, and to react and get them connected to the mental health care that they need.

KRISTIN MYERS: Since schools are, you know, this first line, where so many teachers and counselors can really see these children on a day-to-day basis and notice if there's changes and anything wrong, what kind of resources, specifically, do they need? Do we need to start providing mental health counseling to all students in schools? What's the best way to approach this inside of the education system?

JOHN MACPHEE: Yeah. So the key is to think of it as a village, right, a community of caring so that all of the staff and the administrators-- the adults-- in that school system are trained and know how to recognize a student who's struggling and know how to respond if a student expresses distress to them, right? And then they refer that student and connect them with care.

Now, schools do need mental health, uh, workers, you know, social workers and mental health clinicians. And this needs to be really thought through in terms of what care is being provided at the school, what care can be provided, and when does a student need to be referred out into the community for care.

But these pathways need to be mapped. They need to be resourced so that students are connected to care. And every school needs a plan and adequate resources to do this. And it's critical that we, as a country, make sure that through government, um, and-- and financial resources that schools have the resources they need to create these kinds of safety nets.

ALEXIS CHRISTOFOROUS: You know, John, we're seeing more and more-- thankfully-- school districts saying they're going to open up to being fully in person come the fall. And that's a transition. I mean, as-- as much as the kids may want to go back, for those who've been away for so long, going back could actually be jarring. And there's going to be a period of adjustment. What would your advice be to family, to friends, to kids themselves who are going to try to be dealing with that transition in a few months?

JOHN MACPHEE: Yeah. You're absolutely right. We all want to rush back to normal. But in fact, we have to be ready for fatigue and exhaustion, even languishing, as we start to go back because we've been through so much, and young people have been through so much.

So the advice to schools and-- and to adults who are around young people is to go slow, and go gently, and understand that it's going to be quite an adjustment. And don't expect young people to just be able to jump right back in at that same kind of pace. There has to be some space and room; grounding activities to, you know, just spend time reconnecting with others; socializing; and providing room for young people to adjust to-- to what's coming.

And I'll also add, specifically, that it's important we realize that some young people, uh, actually did better at home than they did in school. Those who felt like they were being bullied, or they weren't safe or maybe had learning differences or were in school environments where they felt othered or were marginalized in some way-- many of those students flourished while they were home and studying.

And for them, it's going to be a particularly difficult adjustment as they come back into the school environment. And so schools need to understand this; be ready for it; and understanding, just overall, that, um, many young people have been traumatized. And so we have to have a trauma-sensitive lens in all of this.

KRISTIN MYERS: John, curious to know how parents should approach their children and-- and help them with their mental health. Should parents, you know, take their children, whether they are expressing symptoms or signs of anxiety or depression or not-- perhaps going to a therapist, just like they would go to their doctor, their pediatrician? How should parents be navigating?

JOHN MACPHEE: Yes. So first, parents should talk about mental health. I think for all of us, the pandemic is a silver lining-- or can be a silver lining-- because we all have experienced some level of stress and distress, and so we can use that to talk about it and have open conversations. So parents can sit with their, um, children and ask how they're doing and ask how their emotional health is and give space for those conversations.

Routine is also very, very important in how we, as parents, model-- How we are responding to the uncertainty and stress is probably the most important way young people will learn. But to your question about, you know, going to a therapist-- absolutely.

If you have any concern or information that your young person is struggling, then going to therapy is a great idea. The pediatrician-- starting with the pediatrician as a place as well to then get referrals is a good idea-- and also, understanding what resources are available at the school and through the school that can be tapped into. Many schools have set up telemental health systems and processes that can be used by families and youth.

So the keys are talk about it. Talk about it yourself, as a parent, and then tap into these resources that you have at your school and through your pediatrician to connect your child to mental health care.

KRISTIN MYERS: Definitely some great tips and some very important reminders for all parents and for all students that are out there that might be watching. John MacPhee, Jed Foundation's executive director and CEO, thanks so much for joining us for this important conversation.