An increase in mental health inquiries among students in Durango School District 9-R and the greater community has led the school district and Pediatric Partners of the Southwest to offer more resources to students and families in need.
Data released by Pediatric Partners of the Southwest shows 15% to 20% of visits to student-based health centers in Durango are solely for the purpose of mental health.
In 2022, Colorado Children’s Hospital reported a 23% increase from the previous year in the number of patients visiting the department of behavioral health.
At a national level, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a study that found 44% of teens reported feeling “sad and hopeless,” which is a 37% increase from before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Suicide was the No. 1 cause of death statewide for those aged 10 to 24 in 2020.
“I think COVID was challenging because the kids were not in school and that’s kind of their community,” said Cecile Fraley, CEO of Pediatric Partners of the Southwest.
Pediatric Partners of the Southwest works with Durango School District 9-R to provide a school-based health center located at Durango High School. The center generally treats students within the school district, but it also provides medical services to anyone ages 1 through 21.
Pediatric Partners of the Southwest has referred 74 patients to mental health support services and counseling during the first half of 2022.
School-based health centers are already offering services such as sports physicals, basic lab testing and immunizations. But Fraley would like to see mental health check-ins added to every visit. She said that would help medical professionals address mental health issues before they become more significant.
“Get them support sooner, that’s really the goal for us,” she said.
Fraley said some students refer themselves to the school-based health center services while others may be referred by a counselor or a family member. In addition to the increase in mental health cases associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, she said there has been a general increase in mental health visits over the last 15 years.
Kim Caruso, a pediatrician with Pediatric Partners of the Southwest, said the impacts of COVID led to poor academic results and less structure in students’ lives, which has taken a toll on mental health.
It also forced students to spend more time online, which can have a negative impact on students’ mental health, she said, adding that the way students connect through social media can also have negative impacts on students’ mental health.
“The way that people relate to each other has really changed fundamentally,” Caruso said. “Whether it’s TikTok, YouTube videos or Facebook posts with a pretty picture of the perfect vacation with the perfect family, it’s set a standard that’s super artificial and not really attainable.”
She said it can lead to feelings of inadequacy, failure and fear of missing out.
Durango School District’s behavioral health team is seeing similar mental health impacts stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have seen an increase in students accessing resources to support their mental health, and we have responded to this trend by increasing our services,” said Vanessa Giddings, executive director of Student Support Services at 9-R.
The district has seven staff members who support the behavior health team. The behavioral health team provides professional development to staff, along with direct and indirect services to students as needed. Each school campus also has a team of providers that includes a counselor, social worker, school psychologist and behavior interventionists.
Giddings said there are a variety of reasons students across the nation may be seeking help for their mental health, and focus should be placed on each student’s needs in order for them to succeed.
9-R has other social-emotional support resources such as Safe2Tell, in which students can anonymously report mental health concerns they have regarding themselves or others. The district also provides social-emotional curriculum to all grades that allows them to learn more about mental health.
“We have observed that the impacts of COVID include increased stress and anxiety for some of our students, much like what is recognized nationally,” Giddings said.
A Colorado Healthy Kids Survey conducted by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment shows that 37.9% of students ages 15 through 18 feel sad or hopeless in Region 9, which includes La Plata, Archuleta, Dolores, Montezuma and San Juan counties.
The survey indicates 17-year-old students were the most likely to say they were depressed at 42.1%.
“We believe that social-emotional health is like physical health. If you’re hurting, it’s hard to learn,” said 9-R spokeswoman Karla Sluis. “Teaching about resilience and providing emotional support doesn’t subtract from core learning – it adds to it and enhances it.”
tbrown@durangoherald.com
