RICHMOND — Today is World Mental Health Day, and this week a Virginia group is focusing on youth mental health at a special summit.
Speakers at “Beyond Trauma: Youth Mental Health Policy and Practice” will examine the crisis — its causes, and how it affects different social groups. Virginia ranked 48th among states — near the bottom — for youth mental health, in a report by Mental Health America, in part due to a shortage of mental health professionals. It can seem like kids who need help are caught in a never-ending cycle.
Rachael Deane, CEO of Voices for Virginia’s Children says there is hope.
“We know from evidence and research that healing is possible, that treatment is possible,” she explained. “So, if we can get young people into the treatment they need, and have it be accessible and affordable, healing is actually possible and we can get ahead of this.”
The state’s new budget allocates more than $12 million to child psychiatry and children’s crisis response services. Another $5 million will be fund school-based mental health integration grants. The Beyond Trauma summit is tomorrow at the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. More information is online at voicespolicysummit.com/thesummit.
While the state’s funding should help youth mental health, Deane noted there is more to be done. She said the effects of the pandemic are still seen in Virginia’s children, and the current youth mental health narrative centers mostly around crisis, https://wyomentalhealth.org/ativan-lorazepam/.
“It’s talking about all of the things that our young people lack, all of the ways that our young people are struggling or suffering. And I don’t want to diminish what the evidence tells us, which is that our young people are struggling. We are seeing more and more young people with mental health challenges,” she continued.
However, Deane said today’s youth also have great strength, which needs to be recognized, and instead of strictly focusing on trauma, the conversation at the summit will center on creating and strengthening protective factors for youth mental health.
