Treatment Programs Open Swiftly To Respond To Teen Mental Health Crisis

37% of high school students experienced mental health struggles and 44% said they felt persistent sadness or hopelessness in 2021 according to the Centers for Disease Control. Some experts say the mental health crisis going on among students is the “next pandemic.”

There have been a litany of mental health companies focused on youth for several years, some like Newport Healthcare using a residential treatment model for teens and others, like Talkspace, creating teen-specific talk therapy.

Other companies have opened more recently to respond to the crisis. It is important for parents and teachers and local counselors to understand their place in therapy.

Lightfully Behavioral Health, a newly launched health care startup, will open its first adolescent residential treatment center in Encinitas, California. This region has a higher concentration of substance abuse and eating disorders, so the new center is intended to help meet the growing need of post-Covid mental crisis.

Like other companies serving California, the facility will cater to junior and high school age patients aged 12-17 with primary mental health disorders including mood, depression and anxiety. The center will use its “Process-Based Therapy” (PBT) clinical model that addresses the whole person and tracks results for measurable outcomes. The center will employ 18 employees including therapists, a certified teacher, and 9 client care technicians.

Other states are experiencing a significant need for youth treatment programs like these.

The Indiana Department of Health released their Youth Risk Behavior Survey for 2021 stating that 47% of students felt sad or hopeless almost every day for 2 weeks in a row so that they stopped doing some usual activities.

The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction’s Survey concluded that 44% of female 12th graders reported that their mental health was most of the time or always “not good” including stress, anxiety, or depression in the 30 days before the survey was conducted in 2021.

In Montana, 10% of students attempted suicide one or more times during the 12 months prior to the time the 2021 Montana Youth Risk Behavior Survey was administered (Feb-March 2021).