The COVID-19 pandemic - with its unknowns and isolation- whipped up a perfect storm that dramatically increased acute mental health care use among the United States' youths. Hospitalizations among children aged 19 and below increased by 61% from 2016 to 2021.
Dr. Venus Nicolino, a Los Angeles Times bestselling author with a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, watched the alarming numbers rise. She says the data is cause for serious concern.
"We're 100% in trouble," says Nicolino, chairwoman and owner for the innovative mental health app SoundMind. "Some studies suggest anxiety and depression in children and adolescents doubled globally compared to pre-pandemic levels."
A meta-analysis published in JAMA Pediatrics that included 80,000 participants globally uncovered damning findings: One in four adolescents globally are "experiencing clinically elevated depression symptoms, while one in five youth are experiencing clinically elevated anxiety symptoms."
"Magically erasing COVID wouldn't be a cure-all," Nicolino says. "Major depressive episodes shot up by 60% from 2007 to 2019 in young people."
Because of the dire statistics, Nicolino supports digital support systems to improve mental health - one of the reasons she's championing SoundMind, a wellness audio and visual music therapy app that uses music therapy to ease trauma, depression, and anxiety in people suffering from such symptoms.
SoundMind Provides a Support System for Parents and Teachers
"Most of our current mental health solutions are painfully slow and embarrassingly ineffective," Dr. Venus Nicolino says. "SoundMind offers mental health therapy to any young person anywhere."
That ability, married to speed, bears witness to how digital tools can aid health care.
"We don't have enough therapists and won't anytime soon," Dr. Venus Nicolino says, citing California as an example. It possesses the funding for counselors, but ranks in the bottom five states for the number of school counselors.
"Training new ones takes two to three years, way too slow for desperate times," she says.
Meanwhile, the statistics in California are grim. According to the Annie E. Casey Foundation, children's anxiety and depression grew by 70% from 2016 to 2020 in the state.
Dr. Venus Nicolino Says the SoundMind App Informs Parents About Youths' Mental Health Struggles
SoundMind inspires hope, which helps the adults in children's lives avoid feeling helpless, Dr. Venus Nicolino says. Through the tool, parents and educators get informed about youth mental health.
"Then, they are emboldened to speak with young people about complex issues," Nicolino says. "And the children build confidence to speak up and open up to adults after seeing mind management is possible - and just a click away."
She adds, "With every download, SoundMind can help young people get a little further down the road. Often, an hour's worth of positive feelings produce hope, which can carry a person through the day. Getting through the day means life goes on - literally, in many cases, where the opposite could occur when hope has vanished."
Mental Health Tools like SoundMind Help Youths, Parents, and Teachers, Says Dr. Venus Nicolino
"Tools like SoundMind can help youth and parents and administrators with transparency into student mental health," Nicolino explains. "SoundMind helps with students' mind management by eliminating the lack of understanding of youth emotions. It puts teachers in the know."
Since educators are invested in student wellness, the SoundMind team wants to help them feel like they can be aware and not feel helpless.
"Our platform meets the students where they are and grows with them as they continue to develop," Dr. Venus Nicolino states.
SoundMind is already used nationally in Boys & Girls Clubs of America and has started to scale into state school systems.
Dr. Venus Nicolino Offers Additional Mental Health Tips for Parents and Educators
In addition to utilizing digital technology, parents can positively impact youths' mental health with meaningful actions. The key is to be aware and set a healthy framework for children.
"Structure, routine, and being there are important," Dr. Venus Nicolino says. "Also, pay close attention, so you know when you need to step up 'being there.'"
Nicolino explains that toddlers and young children show positive mental health by playing well with others, being actively curious, and gaining control over their emotions little by little. Parents should watch for difficulty sleeping and out-of-control behavior.
"The basics of good overall health aren't a mystery," Nicolino says. "But we tend to skip things that help us thrive or simply get through the day without a meltdown."
She adds, "We ignore a routine bedtime even though we always feel and perform better with eight-plus hours of sleep. Letting your child wallow in TikTok until midnight is no routine."
