By Laura Morton and Michelle Baker, Photo: muratdeniz/Getty Images, HR DIVE, May 2, 2023
Today’s teens face unprecedented challenges and change — a mix of residual grief and trauma from the pandemic, school shootings, hate speech, economic worries and more. It’s no secret that our young people are experiencing a mental health crisis. A recent survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 1 in 3 high school girls considered suicide in 2021. The same study found that over half of LGBTQ teens had experienced poor mental health, and youth in all racial and ethnic groups showed worsening levels of persistent sadness.
As heartbreaking as these statistics are, they only shed light on part of the problem. A segment of our population bears the weight of this mental health epidemic: parents, guardians and families.
Navigating mental healthcare for children takes a toll on parents and caregivers, emotionally and physically. In fact, depression in adults causes an estimated 200 million lost workdays each year, at the cost of $17 billion to $44 billion to employers, according to the CDC.
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