Increasing Access to Mental Health Services Through Reduction of Stigma.

Abstract

* Abbreviation: AAP — : American Academy of Pediatrics Despite the mental health needs of children and adolescents, families may have a general reluctance to access care due to a perception of stigma. With >22% of children and youth being diagnosed with behavioral health needs in the United States before they are 18 years old,1 there is a critical need to ensure that these individuals access mental health services before a crisis. Several components can help with this: screening for mental health needs, facilitating referral, and addressing willingness to access care. In this issue of Pediatrics , “A School-Based Intervention for Mental illness Stigma: A Cluster Randomized Trial” by Link et al2 highlights the short- and long-term impacts of a middle school intervention on reducing stigma and social isolation and increasing the potential of … Address correspondence to Shashank V. Joshi, MD, FAAP, DFAACAP, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Stanford University, 401 Quarry Rd, Stanford, CA 94305-5719. E-mail: svjoshi{at}stanford.edu