This month, the U.S. Surgeon General, Vivek H. Murthy, released the advisory Protecting Youth Mental Health. It’s a 53 page report about a youth mental health crisis made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“[I]n 2019, one in three high school students and half of female students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness,” the Surgeon General declares in his introduction, “an overall increase of 40% from 2009.”
Adolescence and young adulthood provide many challenges, but the disruption and isolation during the pandemic has proven harmful to many young people.
“I know so many people have suffered through worse things, but there’s also this feeling of ‘this is supposed to be the greatest time of my life’ and I’m sitting in my room staring at a computer,” said 20-year-old Isabelle Schindler to The Washington Post.
Child, Teen, and Family Programs
Canvas Health’s staff working with young people have noticed a similar trend. And it one reason Canvas Health like to incorporate family and support networks into treatment whenever possible, so young people, now more than ever, know they aren’t alone.
The Surgeon General’s report makes clear our programs serving youth—who make up half of our 8,500 clients each year—on the frontlines of this national crisis.
If you’d like to learn more about Canvas Health’s youth and family programs, you can visit our website or give our staff a call at (651) 777-5222 or just drop us a message here.
