NEW REPORT: BUILDING THE MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM OUR TEENS NEED AND DESERVE NOW

An Updated Look at Opportunities for Breakthrough Progress in Washington's Adolescent Mental Health Crisis

There is perhaps no issue more important to the wellbeing of Washingtonians than mental health – especially among our youth. While we have made some progress since the pandemic in building capacity to respond to individual mental health crises, we are not yet making the most important and impactful upstream investments to stem the tide of depression, which is responsible for nearly half of the mental-health-related suffering experienced by Washington adolescents.

In a report issued in May 2023, we called attention to the most impactful investments for ensuring effective treatment of surging youth depression and anxiety. Those investments have not yet been made as Washington continues to fall further behind and is ranked this year among the worst states (48th) for youth mental health.

In this new paper, we provide a rigorous assessment of leading proposals to improve youth mental health in Washington, and offer recommendations for low-cost, high-impact strategies that the state could implement to make major progress in the year ahead. Including:

• Implementing social media usage limits;

• Expanding access to group therapy;

• Creating a statewide platform for screening, brief interventions, and teletherapy.

Reid Saaris, author of the report, said “There is no issue more pressing today in the lives of young people, educators, and parents. The good news is that there are strong, affordable, evidence-based solutions working well in pockets of our state, and around the country. Washington just needs to make the decision to ensure these solutions are available to all our adolescents in 2025.”