No Vacancy: How a Shortage of Mental Health Beds Keeps Kids Trapped Inside ERs
One evening in late March, a mom called 911. Her daughter, she said, was threatening to kill herself. EMTs arrived at the home north of Boston, helped calm the 13-year-old, and took her to an emergency room.
Melinda, like a growing number of children during the covid-19 pandemic, had become increasingly anxious and depressed as she spent more time away from in-person contact at school, church and her singing lessons. Read more ›
In the early months of 2021, visits to emergency departments for suspected suicide attempts increased roughly 50 percent for adolescent girls compared with the same period in 2019, according to a 
For the past 15 months, we’ve been carefully following safety protocols, and strict mandates have helped inform our decisions. Now, as we come out of our COVID caves, the rules are more ambiguous and varying comfort levels collide. It can create a whole new wave of anxiety around what feels safe, especially when our precautions don’t match those around us.
As the nation’s leading expert on psychiatric disorders in children and the leading researcher on the effects of psychiatric drugs on kids, Dr. Glen Elliott says that doctors and even teachers are too quick to recommend medicating young minds rather than taking the necessary steps to find out if drugs are even necessary. Dr. Elliott’s book, 
As parents, we all want to create a safe, nurturing and stable home for our families. And the collective, cumulative trauma of the past year has made it harder than ever. So it makes sense that we might turn to trauma-informed parenting, often utilized by foster parents or those whose children have experienced trauma, for ideas. 
If your child or teen is struggling with communication, behavior or relationships, or no longer wants to participate in things that they used to enjoy, it may be time to seek help. How do you convince them that it’s time to take that step? And what can you expect when you get there?
We all have some degree of ‘re-entry anxiety’ — whether it’s going back to the workplace, sending our kids to school, or re-engaging with friends and family. The very thing we want the most — to re-enter the world — is causing unease and apprehension. This online gathering features an in-depth conversation with a blue ribbon panel of experts who will offer insights and important practical advice on re-engaging. 
You’ve done your research and found someone who you think would be a good fit for your child. But how do you tell them that they’re going to therapy? And how do you get a reluctant child to go? 
It can be a tough thing to accept that your teenager is experiencing depression. But it can be even harder if you feel like they don’t want help.
