INTRODUCTION
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Mental health issues like depression and anxiety (among others) are prevalent in Western society with estimates as high as one fifth of the population experiencing a mental health issue at some point in their lives. These issues are also common among youth demographics.
According to some researchers, mental health concerns tend to be highest among individuals between the ages of 16 -24. They also tend to be relatively common among children and adolescents between the ages of 4 and 17 with estimates as high as 14% for this particular age group.
Though prevalence of mental health issues among youth are high in society, many of these individuals have a reluctance to seek help and because of this, their issues often go untreated.
The following article discusses some of the barriers that youth experience regarding access to mental health treatment.
BARRIERS TO YOUTH ACCESSING MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
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STIGMA / EMBARRASSMENT
Stigma and embarrassment tends to be the most commonly reported barrier to youth seeking mental health services. Not surprisingly, youth tend to be concerned about what others will think of them if they they have a mental health issue or if they seek help.
“Others” may include members of their family, their family and even health service professionals.
CONFIDENTIALITY AND TRUST ISSUES
Youth often report that they have concerns that service providers will breach their trust or confidentiality in some way and that others will find out that they have a mental health issue. This notion appears to be related to stigma and embarrassment associated with societies views on mental health.
CONFUSING LANGUAGE
The language surrounding mental health issues can be confusing for many individuals. Often youth hear the term "mental health" and automatically think mental illness.
However, mental health actually refers to being mentally healthy. Nonetheless, youth often report that the term itself is quite confusing.
LACK OF ACCESSIBILITY
Youth often experience transportation and time constraints relating to seeking services. Mental health services also tend to be difficult to navigate and they may be inadequate, or inappropriate culturally for a particular youth. In some cases, service may not even exist as is the case in many small towns or rural areas.
AFFORDABILITY ISSUES
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Private treatment for mental health services tends to be very costly and mental health conditions also tend to be more common among individuals living in low socio-economic status. Together these two factors make it difficult for individuals to receive treatment.
INDIVIDUAL RESILIENCE
Some youth rely on themselves to overcome their issues rather than seeking help. These individuals tend to believe that they can deal with and/or overcome their own issues.
LONG WAIT TIMES
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Mental health services are often coupled with long wait times. On the low end individuals often need to wait 2-4 weeks before they can see a referred specialist.
Some researchers point out that it is common for youth to wait several months or even years to see specialists. This in itself poses a problem since issues often increase over time.
LACK OF COORDINATION BETWEEN SERVICES
Often there is a lack of coordination between mental health services which can create transitioning difficulties for the youth. Health services, justice institutions, education settings and social services often operate individually on a particular youth rather than working together.
Sometimes these services even compete with each other for funding or they hold different priorities regarding treatment and intervention. Services are also typically unable to share their client’s information with other institutions which further creates a barrier for the individual.
LACK OF HEALTH LITERACY
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A lack of knowledge about mental health, denial of the problem and feelings of hopelessness for the individual can lead to the youth believing that nothing can help them.
Individuals may also have difficulties identifying symptoms of their mental health or they may be aware of their mental distress but alter the meaning attached to it. In these cases the youth may actually normalize their distress and not see it as an issue.
LACK OF HEALTH CARD OR INSURANCE
Many individuals within our society do not have a health card or health insurance (depending on the health system) which makes it difficult for them to receive treatment.
CONFUSION WITH THE TERM "MENTAL"
According to some researchers, youth tend to be confused by the term “mental” and often believe it to mean that an individual has an intellectual disability. Such beliefs are thought to affect a youth’s willingness to access mental health services for fear of being labeled as having a disability.
With that in mind, some health service providers suggest that we use a term that puts the focus on intervention measures and that we promote the idea that mental issues are due to experiences that are beyond the individuals control (i.e. trauma, abuse, or grief...etc) rather than faults of the individual.
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OTHER BARRIERS
Other barriers to accessing mental health services can include unsatisfactory past experiences, fear and stress regarding seeking help, and poor location of services.
Others barriers can include, negative attitudes toward seeking help, inconvenience, not knowing where to go, belief that treatment will not help, cultural barriers, and fear of reprimand.
FACILITATORS TO YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH
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Though there are many barriers to youth seeking mental health services there are some facilitating factors as well.
Such factors include: Higher education and mental health promotion among policy makers, organizations, institutions and municipalities. Others include knowledge of mental health, prior treatment experience, greater length of time living with a mental health issue and positive attitudes surrounding mental health.
Still others include: free health services, positive influence of intimate partner or general practitioner, active and involved parents, social encouragement, options for anonymous online, text or telephone help services and culturally appropriate services.
CONCLUSION
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Thanks for Reading
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