Newport Healthcare, a national network of evidence-based healing centers for teens and young adults with primary mental health disorders, has announced a three-year agreement with Managed Health Network (MHN) to provide services in California. With this agreement, families in California with MHN health coverage will have more local mental health professionals to choose from to receive quality care. This increase in access to care is good news for families with children; the new contract coincides with recent data indicating that some COVID-19 mitigation measures have contributed to increases in mental health disorders among young people nationwide.
“Expanding access to in-network care is critical to help the growing number of teens and young adults who are desperately struggling as a result of the pandemic and even prior to it,” said Joe Procopio, CEO of Newport Healthcare. “We are pleased to partner with MHN to provide their members with proven, sustainable healing.”
MHN, as the behavioral health part of Health Net, provides comprehensive behavioral change solutions for more than three million members in California. MHN’s members will now have access to Newport’s network of treatment programs including residential, partial hospitalization (PHP), and intensive outpatient (IOP) services.
In addition to addressing the nation’s steadily rising mental health issues with teens and young adults, this timely partnership will serve to help those who have been severely impacted by COVID-induced isolation and its impacts to their mental health. In a recent survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 63 percent of 18- to-24-year-olds reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, with 25 percent reporting increased substance use to deal with that stress, and 25 percent saying they had seriously considered suicide. Other recent data suggests that self-harm has nearly doubled in teens ages 13-18, and anxiety and depression have also seen marked increases. Pre-pandemic, in California, 45 percent of youth between the ages of 12-17 reported struggling with mental health issues, with nearly a third of them experiencing serious psychological distress that could interfere with their academic and social functioning. Sadly, about two-thirds of California youth with major depression do not get treatment.
Newport’s family-systems approach with individualized, integrated programs that encompass clinical therapy, academic or career support, and experiential practices, address mental health issues including anxiety, depression, trauma, and suicidal ideation. Recently released outcomes data compiled in collaboration with Drexel University revealed statistically significant, industry-leading improvements of patient symptoms following treatment at Newport.