MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C. — The school year can come with anxiety for some students, especially after how many school threats we have already seen in North Carolina and South Carolina in the first month back.
The spotlight on mental health has intensified since the pandemic, but it’s now at a crisis point with more demand than there is supply of mental health experts. As some sound the alarm, therapists from Charlotte and around the nation are seeking solutions.
"The issues out in the work, a lot of times kids are seeing these things in more of an adult form and so sometimes they are taking it that way," Adina Godette, a licensed clinical social worker with Thriveworks, said. "We have to be mindful of this."
Godette explained there’s a nationwide cry for help for more mental health support for students.
"Sometimes the parents' anxiety can become the kid's anxiety," Godette said. "I think therapy is good to teach them to separate things as well, whether its emotional or physical."
Thriveworks' research shows that demand for child therapy has soared by nearly double digits, with children under 10 as the fastest growing age group where help is needed. This segment is growing five times faster than for children ages 11 to 17.
It comes as North Carolina has a shortage of child psychiatrists and therapists.
"The 10 and under, 12 and under, those are the kiddos that we have the biggest problems with in terms of needing a therapist," Dr. Dean Beckloff, a renowned mental health expert, said.
He said it comes down to a shortage in the industry. Like many other places in our economy, demand is just outpacing the supply of who’s out there.
"There is more awareness now of what the needs are and mental health professionals are stepping up to the game," Beckloff said.
Beckloff said adolescents and teens are dealing with the weight of increased violence in schools, academics and social lives, along with social media that can really promote a strenuous environment.
Contact Colin Mayfield at cmayfield@wcnc.com or follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.
If you or a loved one are facing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, there is help readily available. You can call Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or chat with them online. There are also resources in North Carolina available here and in South Carolina available here.