While many employers are stepping up their efforts, mental health care Benefit leaders may be overlooking an important part of working parent health: the mental health of their children.
Brightline, a virtual behavioral care platform for children, found that 85% of parents felt that spending time on their child’s behavioral health health impacted their ability to work. Since the pandemic began, 20% of her caregivers said their child needed more medical, mental health support, or educational services than she felt was normal for a child her age. I noticed.
Given how the pandemic has transformed workplaces and schools, Dr. David Glodberg, Chief Psychiatry Officer at Brightline, doesn’t think these reactions are all that shocking. Years have passed and the family still faces an uncertain future.
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“There are so many uncertainties right now, wondering what the new normal will be like,” says Dr. Groddberg. “And what we’ve learned is that children are quite psychologically stressed.”
Mental Health America estimates that 15% of children ages 12 to 17 have had at least one major depressive episode in the past year. And when children are stressed and struggling, parents are closely involved.
“It’s well known that anxiety in children takes a toll on parents,” says Dr. Grodberg. “As parents, we are humanly bound to make our children feel good and protect them when they are suffering.”
Employees are dealing with uncertainty outside in addition to what’s happening inside their homes. Employers don’t yet know how often they want their employees back in the office or whether they should keep them at home. What’s more, his COVID, flu and RSV “triad” this winter has spread like wildfire in schools and homes. More than 15.2 million children have now tested positive for his COVID, and an estimated 500,000 children have had her COVID for a long time, according to the CDC.
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Even children who have returned to a normal school schedule may have problems that permeate their parents’ work. You may receive up to 30 different text messages from a requesting child, explains Dr. Grodberg. Because children have difficulty finding words to express themselves, emotions manifest themselves in behavior, which can be erratic or out of character.
Knowing that mental health challenges are likely to continue if childhood is not addressed, Dr. Groddberg stresses how important it is for parents to have access to mental health care for their children. because in the end it’s my happiness family problems at work.
“Employers have the opportunity to support their employees in ways they probably didn’t have before,” says Dr. Grodberg. “But whatever resource it is, it has to meet where the parents are.”
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Dr. Grodberg advises employers to work with third parties that provide behavioral guidance as well as affordable therapy for children. Behavioral coaching focuses on helping children develop better life skills for the future, but therapists ask patients to explore the past and the reasons behind their behavior. To do.
Most importantly, Dr. Grodberg urges employers not to underestimate the difference between pediatrically trained and adult therapists.
“There are adult mental health companies that use adult interventions and simply administer them to children and teenagers,” he says. It requires consideration not only of parents, but also of other stakeholders who are necessarily involved in the lives of children, such as teachers and pediatricians.”
