CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — According to non-profit organization, Mental Health America, in the U.S., Texas ranks last in mental health care access for children. The reason is we're in a shortage of mental health care professionals and have been for some time.
The Texas Tribune reports that of Texas' 254 counties, 98% of them are considered "mental health professional shortage areas."
"Texas is a very high gross state. We actually have 10% of the children in the United States reside in Texas," said Executive Vice President and COO of Driscoll Children's Hospital, Dr. Mary Dale Peterson.
"Even though we are attracting physicians to Texas and training lots of new physicians, we just cannot keep up with the growth rate," she explained.
Dr. Peterson has been working in healthcare for over forty years and said she has seen mental health become less stigmatized. She says the reason why is because doctors are seeing more children in need of mental health care.
She said, "we're seeing younger and younger children with self-harm behavior, anxiety and depression. I think more families are exposed to it than ever before and so people are more willing to discuss and talk about it."
Some of the things that Peterson and Driscoll staff are doing in the area include helping their pediatric practices by embedding mental health professionals within the pediatrician's primary care practice.
"We have our Driscoll mental health professionals in six of our schools at CCISD; five elementary schools and one high school," Dr. Peterson said.
Dr. Peterson said that if your child is struggling with anxiety or depression, she urges that parents can help by forming a good diet, exercising, getting enough sleep and reducing their screen time.
She said this won't only help improve mental health but their physical health as well.
Dr. Peterson added that families sharing at least one meal a day together can also prevent obesity and mental health deterioration.
"Really having that time together where people check in with each other is really important as a family," she said.
Along with Driscoll's mental health resources, The Driscoll Health Plan also offers a free community resource called the Positive Parenting Program to help parents trying to navigate any difficult behaviors their child or teen may be exerting.
The classes are free and are held both virtually and in-person. For more information on that you can click here.
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