The ER is No Place To Get Youth Mental Health Treatment Either
We’ve talked before about jails being a bad place to treat mental health issues, yet we see so many people ending up there because their conditions spiral without any proper treatment. We’re seeing the same thing with children in emergency rooms as well:
An increasing number of children are showing up in U.S. emergency rooms in the throes of a mental health crisis, researchers reported Friday. And the increases are seen in minority children, in particular.
It’s not clear why, but the researchers say their findings are startling. They are seeing the same pattern across the country
“It’s really disheartening. Community resources for mental health, especially for youth, are incredibly scarce,” said Dr. Anna Abrams, a pediatrician and researcher at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
What I think we can conclude, is that we are not getting to these kids early enough to avoid this. Whether that is because of the stigma involved in seeking treatment, or the lack of available treatment, we’re not doing enough to get to these kids until they are in the direst of straits.
That’s not good enough.
