October 10 is World Mental Health Day. Doctors and other medical and healthcare professionals want everyone to consider what they’re thinking and feeling, and whether it’s truly healthy or not. The theme for this year is access to mental health services and whether people are truly able to access the care they need.
Dr. Nicole Saint Clair, Executive Medical Director of Regence BlueShield, addressed the topic in our latest Healthier Together segment. She says publicity is creating more awareness.
“There’s definitely been a greater understanding and much better discussion, I think nationwide,” Dr. Saint Clair tells KIRO 7.
The doctor is glad more people are thinking about what they’re feeling in regards to mental health and potential mental illness. While she realizes mental health awareness is having a moment, and she thinks it could be bigger since mental and physical health go hand in hand.
“There is no stigma to needing to address some (mental health) issue,” Dr. Saint Clair says.
She tells KIRO 7 that mental health challenges are still underreported, especially for teens. Several medical groups and studies cite a range of issues from anxiety and depression to things like bipolar and eating disorders that are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, in 2021 and 2022, 19.0% of children aged 2 to 8 years had one or more mental disorders. Of these children, 9.1% reported not receiving any needed health care in the previous 12 months, and of these, 45.8% reported not receiving mental health services when needed.
The primary reasons for not receiving needed health care were problems getting an appointment (72.1%), issues related to cost (39.3%), and services needed not being available in the area (38.5%). Poor experiences with health care providers were consistently associated with not receiving needed mental health services among children with mental disorders.
The situation even prompted the American Academy for Pediatrics to declare a mental health emergency for young people who are often immersed in social media.
Dr. Saint Clair says social media truly is a double-edged sword when it comes to mental health.
“Social media is a tricky thing; often times it can help people stay connected and reduce isolation, which we know can contribute to mental health, but a lot of studies have found that social media can really challenge our mental health in many different ways,” she tells KIRO 7.
The National Institute of Mental Health estimated that more than one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness: 59.3 million in 2022. That’s 23.1% of the U.S. adult population
While accessing mental health care is an issue being highlighted for this year’s World Mental Health Day, Dr. Saint Clair says there are ways to find the care people may need.
“So, most plans through their provider search tools on their websites and on their apps will have ways for you to not only search for a mental health provider, but you can also make some additional selections to try to find someone who you think you’ll be more likely to identify with.”
She also says the internet gave us social media, which has both positive and negative influences, but internet services also gave us greater access to mental health care.
Virtual visits with counselors and psychologists are normal now. Before the Pandemic the technology was considered and being developed, but nobody saw it as a full mainstream platform for treatment. Pandemic shutdowns forced the rapid use of the technology that is now considered very routine. Telephone helplines are also available to people in mental health crises.
There are concerns over funding, or lack thereof, that could limit access to mental health care. The World Federation for Mental Health estimates that only about 2% of global health budgets go to mental health care and treatment. The hope is that awareness and virtual access could help bridge the divide for those without mental health care.
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