Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia has opened its first-ever Behavioral Health and Crisis Center in West Philadelphia, with a mission of hope and healing. Now in its second year, the center provides 24/7 specialized mental health care for children ages 5 to 17. Hospital leaders say demand surged, particularly in the years following the COVID-19 pandemic. As the senior director of the center stated, “Pre-pandemic and post-pandemic, we saw this huge growth of patients with psychiatric needs, but there were no beds for them to be placed, so we decided we needed to be able to provide access.”
Mental Health Crisis in Youth
Anxiety and depression in children have risen significantly. In the U.S., suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10 to 24. A child psychiatrist and the center’s medical director noted that growing up today means living in a completely electronic world, with bad habits related to mental or behavioral health magnified by social media and increased screen time, potentially leading to feelings of anxiety, isolation, and depression. She observed, “It’s not just kids who aren’t interacting with each other, but there’s also less interaction from families. When you’re looking at a screen, you’re not interacting with each other, and you can miss really important things.”
Comprehensive Treatment Approach
At the center, there is an hour of schooling each day for young patients staying several days for treatment. There is also individual and family therapy, music, and art therapy, all in a setting designed for kids. Patients spend an hour in the gym every day learning how to play and interact with each other. The goal is ensuring that “when kids and families leave here that we have built upon the strengths that they come to us with so they feel more prepared to be back in the community with the appropriate support.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://us.headtopics.com/news/chop-s-crisis-center-brings-hope-for-children-s-mental-83146172