As a nation, we continue to see troubling trends in youth mental health and well-being. Emergency departments saw a 20% increase in cases involving children’s mental distress between 2019 and 2022, with reported cases of suicide and self-injury rising by a shocking 50%. The prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms among youth has been growing for a decade, but the experiences of stress, isolation, and uncertainty during the Covid-19 pandemic only elevated them further. Moreover, the disproportionate impact of mental health challenges and the disparities in mental health outcomes among certain youth populations—for instance, those who identify as LGBTQ+ and youth of color—are both increasing, causing even greater suffering for already marginalized populations.
Because service demand wholly outmatches the supply of psychologists and other mental health professionals—and because our country’s mental health system requires a diagnosis to provide treatment—we need more emphasis on prevention and early intervention. Otherwise, we will essentially never catch up, let alone prevent these mental health challenges.
Never has there been a more urgent need for our nation to embrace a population health approach—expanding our thinking around who can receive and provide care, when and where care is provided, and what support can look like no matter one’s level of need. As a field, we can apply the breadth of our knowledge to bring this vision closer to reality. APA’s Council of Representatives voted to adopt a population health policy in 2021, and ever since the association has embraced this approach at the highest level.
The current children’s mental health crisis provides APA and the field of psychology with an opportunity to rethink our approach, addressing the issue at multiple levels: individual, community, and society. We can infuse developmental and implementation science into public policy so that mental health care for children is provided in the most effective, efficient, and sustainable ways. We can foster children’s resilience by equipping schools and communities with tools to nurture them and build them up. We can advance a research agenda with a greater focus on the systemic and social determinants, like education and housing, that underlie and heavily influence children’s health status.
Our science can shape policies, improve systems, and open minds. Our practice can break down seemingly intractable barriers and change people’s lives. We need to bring the breadth and depth of psychology to bear in promoting a population health approach. The future of our youth depends on it.
