The Meadows Institute Empowers Parents with School-Age Children Who Show Signs of Anxiety or Depression

Chief medical officer Roshni Koli discusses practical and effective ways parents and caregivers can support students on “Health Uncensored With Dr. Drew.”

September 30, 2024

On an episode of the national television program “Health Uncensored With Dr. Drew,” the Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute was invited to share practical, effective ways that parents and caregivers can help their children who have begun to show signs of depression or anxiety now that the school year is in full swing.

“The first thing to know is that anxiety is a normal emotion,” said Roshni Koli, the chief medical officer at the Meadows Institute. “We all experience some symptoms of worry or anxiety at different periods in our life, in particular with change. Many children and adolescents have anxiety about what school is going to be like and how it’s going to change their routine.”

That’s especially true as students tackle new schedules, study for tests, try out for teams, and navigate the social pressures from friends and classmates.

Because parents and caregivers serve as the best line of support for their children, Koli said how important it is for loved ones and trusted adults to open lines of communication. “If kids and adolescents feel like something doesn’t feel right or they are worried, they know they can talk to someone,” Koli said.

At the same time, Koli provided tips for parents to distinguish between normal behaviors versus those that affect daily routines and could suggest an early sign of a mental health need.

“Some kids when they have anxiety actually present with stomachaches or headaches,” Koli said. “There’s a physical manifestation, and a couple of days of that might not be a big deal. But if it’s getting to the point that a child is refusing to go to school or having difficulty sleeping or withdrawing from friends, that could be a sign that we need some more help.”

This is especially important because mental illness is a pediatric disease: 50 percent of mental health needs begin by the age of 14, and 75 percent appear by the age of 24. Still, Koli said that parents shouldn’t put pressure on themselves to diagnose an issue on their own. Instead, it’s more important to recognize that something isn’t quite right with their child and know what to do to get help.

One important first step would be to connect with your primary care doctor or pediatrician. The Meadows Institute supports a form of integrated behavioral health care known as the Collaborative Care Model. This approach elevates mental health care alongside physical care by providing children and families access to a psychiatrist and a behavioral health care manager through their pediatrician’s office without a referral.

With care available to parents in children in one place, treatment is not only more convenient but also more effective: the earlier needs are detected and addressed, the greater the chance that the behaviors can be resolved. That’s especially crucial given that currently 60 percent of all children do not receive treatment for depression, and for those who do, it takes on average between eight and ten years for a child or youth to receive treatment after symptoms first emerge.

Another place to find support is through a school-based program called Texas Child Health Access Through Telemedicine, or TCHATT, which was established by the Texas Legislature under the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium. Schools are not providers of behavioral health care, but they are in a great position to identify potential needs of students and help connect families to quality care. TCHATT is telehealth program that can provide access to mental health services through regional “hubs” supported by Texas medical schools, and it is currently available on more than 6,500 campuses, reaching 4.1 million students. The program can only be accessed with the consent of parents or caregivers and requires an assessment before the first appointment.

For more information about these programs and additional work being done by the Meadows Institute on behalf of children and adolescents, please visit our website.