While the COVID-19 pandemic national and public health emergency has ended, U.S. children and teenagers are still struggling with the immense toll the pandemic had on mental health. Recently published data from the CDC shows that in the 10 years leading up to the pandemic, “4 in 10 U.S. high schoolers experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in 2021 [and] nearly a quarter seriously considered attempting suicide” (“The Kids Aren’t Alright”, 2023). This alarming trend was only made worse by the pandemic, when in addition to dealing with social isolation and academic disruption, many had to face additional traumatic events:
More than 200,000 children lost a parent or primary caregiver to COVID-19
29% of U.S. high school students had a parent or caregiver who lost their job
55% were emotionally abused by a parent or caregiver, and 11% were physically abused (Abrams, 2023)
While all teens are facing increased mental health challenges, the data shows that teenage girls and LGBQ+ students are struggling even more amongst their peers:
Nearly 1 in 3 girls seriously considered attempting suicide—up nearly 60% from a decade ago.
1 in 5 girls experienced sexual violence in the past year—up 20% since 2017, when CDC started measuring this.
52% of LGBQ+ students had recently experienced poor mental health and more than 1 in 5 (22%) attempted suicide in the past year (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023)
These findings may be discouraging and difficult to digest, but the CDC also offered some hopeful recommended solutions for addressing the teen mental health crisis - schools can be a lifeline for students facing trauma. With 95% of U.S. youth spending the majority of their time at school, school connectedness plays a critical role in the health and well-being of students (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023). When students experience school connectedness, they feel that adults and peers in their school community care about their learning in addition to valuing them as whole individuals. Students who feel connected to their school trust that the mentors, teachers and staff surrounding them care about them, their well-being and their overall success. With school connectedness, students are less likely to experience poor mental health, sexual health risks, substance abuse and violence (“School Connectedness Helps Students Thrive”, 2022).
The concept of school connectedness is fundamental to Acknowledge Alliance’s work building thriving school communities where students are equipped with lifelong resilience and teachers are empowered to be their best selves. Our on-site Collaborative Counseling Program psychotherapists build long-term therapeutic relationships with at-risk youth, providing individualized treatment focused on healing underlying trauma and issues. As one teacher said about her students participating in CCP, "I have seen students go from being withdrawn and not interacting with peers to having friends. I have also observed students come to school specifically because there is counseling here for them and then gradually have good attendance and good grades."
Our Resilience Consultation Program counselors and consultants support the social emotional wellbeing of entire school ecosystems - from teachers to students, principals, administrators, and family members. They strengthen school communities by facilitating social-emotional learning lessons that focus on building student and classroom resilience skills, and by being an encouraging on-campus presence for educators, guiding them as they navigate challenges in the classroom and beyond. At Acknowledge Alliance, we firmly believe that students reap the benefits when we strengthen the caring capacity of the adults that influence their lives.
References
Abrams, Zara. (2023, January 1). Kids’ mental health is in crisis. Here’s what psychologists are doing to help. American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/01/trends-improving-youth-mental-health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, February 13). U.S. Teen Girls Experiencing Increased Sadness and Violence. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2023/p0213-yrbs.html
Division of Adolescent and School Health, National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. (2022, September 28). School Connectedness Helps Students Thrive. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/protective/school_connectedness.htm?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fhealthyyouth%2Fprotective%2Fyouth-connectedness-important-protective-factor-for-health-well-being.htm
NPR. (2023, March 1). The Kids Aren't Alright: The Post-Pandemic Teen Mental Health Crisis. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2023/03/01/1160478454/the-kids-arent-alright-the-post-pandemic-teen-mental-health-crisis