Mental Health In America

I have many hobbies, one of them is reading. As with most working parents, I don't always put as much time into my hobbies as I used to.  That's probably why it took me almost two months to finish my recent book.  I highly recommend everyone reads Stephanie Giese's memoir, All I Never Knowed.  Since finishing her book, I want to reflect some more.

I'm a pediatrician. I have been called (yes I feel this is truly a vocation) to care for children and to be their advocate.  Some may think I mostly give shots, treat colds and ear infections, and make sure children are growing appropriately.  Those things are only a small part of my job.  Especially during the COVID pandemic, I feel more and more like a psychiatrist and therapist too.  I have families tell me, they've been waiting 3-4 months to see a therapist.  I have families tell me they took their child to the crisis center because their child's mental health deteriorated while waiting for therapy and they started performing self-harm.  I have families wait in the emergency room for days waiting for an inpatient psychiatric bed to open.  I have families tell me they agree they should see a psychiatrist but none accepts their insurance.  I have families tell me they found a therapist or psychiatrist, but they can't afford the self-pay rate.  Receiving treatment for mental illness shouldn't be this hard.

And now let's talk about the school system for a little.  These thoughts are not directed towards teachers.  I have not met a single teacher who doesn't want his or her students to succeed.  Tell me why our current educational model waits for students to fail before they investigate the need for special education?  Tell me why parents have to fight tooth and nail to get a child a 504 plan?  Tell me why schools receive funding based on standardized tests scores and not the social-emotional well being of the students?  And guess what!?!  Having a child fail in school, especially when it could be prevented with the proper accommodations and remediation, increases the rates of mental illness!!!

I honestly thought I had more to write, but I'm tired.  And I'm getting more angry as I think about the broken system, so that's it for now.  Go read Steph's book and keep fighting the good fight!