Far too many struggling teens and young adults in Minnesota are not getting the treatment they need for major depression and other mental health conditions. According to Mental Health America (MHA)’s 2022 report tracking the 50 states and the District of Columbia, nearly 60 percent of young people in the state are receiving no care at all for their mental health issues. These are troubling statistics at a time when nearly a quarter of 11th graders in Minnesota have considered suicide.
The MHA rankings show that 58 percent of Minnesota youth with major depression—translating to 42,000 adolescents—did not have access to mental healthcare in the past year. Furthermore, only one-third of Minnesota teens with major depression received any type of consistent treatment. Statistics for adults, including young adults, are similar, with more than half reporting that they received no treatment for mental illness.
The lack of access to mental health services in Minnesota is a problem that has been acknowledged by many of the state’s mental health experts. Dr. Joshua Stein, president of the Minnesota Society of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, says that the state faces two specific issues in delivering mental healthcare: difficulty creating “a good prevention model” to help identify individuals’ mental health issues before they reach a crisis point, and a severe shortage of care providers, particularly in rural areas of Minnesota. Stein described the shortfall as “an incredible issue.”
The State of Teen Mental Health in Minnesota and Nearby Chicago
Like adolescents across the nation, Minnesota teens are struggling, as rates of teen mental health problems and suicidal ideation show. MHA’s 2021 report found that 70,000 Minnesota teens had at least one major depressive episode in the last year. Furthermore, 12 percent of Minnesota teens experienced severe depressive episodes.
In the Chicago area, the closest major metropolitan area outside of Minnesota, the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey also shows highly troubling data on teen mental health. According to the survey, 17 percent of high school students in Chicago have seriously considered suicide, 13 percent have made a plan to attempt suicide, and 10 percent have actually made an attempt. In addition, 38 percent reported feeling sad or hopeless almost every day for at least two weeks in a row.
Furthermore, nearly one out of every five adults in Minnesota suffers from a mental health condition, according to the MHA rankings. Many of these individuals are likely young adults, as major depression typically begins in the mid-20s. Moreover, young adults are at higher risk than their older counterparts for anxiety, depression, and suicide.
What Minnesota Students Report About Their Mental Health
Every three years, Minnesota’s 5th-, 8th-, 9th- and 11th-grade students complete the Minnesota Student Survey (MSS), which provides insight that is used by state agencies to identify trends and inform initiatives to improve youth well-being. The most recent survey shows that more Minnesota students than ever are suffering from long-term mental health, behavioral, or emotional problems. The number of students in the state who reported these issues rose from 18 percent in 2016 to 23 percent in 2019, with rates rising in all grades and for both genders.
Students’ reports of suicide ideation increased for all grade levels between 2013 and 2019. A disturbing 24 percent of 11th-grade students in the state—approximately one in every four Minnesota students—reported seriously considering suicide at some point in their lives. Nearly one in 10 students in 11th grade reported attempting suicide. In addition, LGBQ+ students were about three times more likely than their heterosexual peers to report seriously considering suicide, and four times as likely to actually attempt suicide. And the state’s transgender students in the 11th grade are at the highest risk of attempting suicide: They are four times more likely to do so than cisgender 11th-grade students.
Outcomes-Driven Care for Adolescents and Young Adults
In the most successful treatment programs for teens and young adults, the clinical model of care addresses the underlying causes of mental health and co-occurring disorders. Working with credentialed behavioral healthcare experts who are passionate about supporting young people, clients begin to heal the trauma and attachment wounds that catalyze anxiety, depression, PTSD, self-harm, and other mental health issues.
Research finds that longer-term care (at least 90 days of treatment) is necessary to make lasting positive change. Therefore, the highest-quality programs provide strengths-based academic and life skills programming, so young people continue to progress in school and career development while receiving the mental health treatment they desperately need. Each client has a tailored treatment plan, with clear goals and measurable outcomes, and once they are ready to leave treatment, clinicians work with them to create a comprehensive plan for continuing care after discharge.
An Integrative and Integrated Approach
An approach that is both integrative and integrated typically includes a variety of evidence-based clinical and experiential modalities, including:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
- Family therapy, such as the Attachment-Based Family Therapy model designed to prevent suicide
- Group therapy that helps clients build community and overcome the feelings of isolation caused by anxiety and depression
- Experiential approaches such as fitness activities and art and music therapy
- Mindfulness approaches like yoga and meditation.
Teens and young adults experience a structured schedule that allows them to learn and practice new, healthy approaches to daily living and self-care, and build trusting, supportive relationships with peers and mentors. In addition, they learn skills for building resilience and coping with stress and difficult emotions.
Moreover, the most effective and compassionate treatment programs recognize that the recovery journey centers on building healthy relationships with self, others—including family and loved ones—and one’s larger community. These authentic connections are at the heart of successful treatment, and an essential element of achieving long-term, sustainable healing.
Teen Substance Abuse Treatment in Minnesota
Newport Academy’s residential program in St. Cloud now provides substance use disorder treatment for clients ages 12–18. While many programs offer treatment for chemical dependency, Newport’s comprehensive, outcomes-driven approach includes:
- Individual, family, and group therapy with licensed clinicians, to address mental health conditions underlying substance abuse
- Recovery counseling to build distress tolerance and healthy coping strategies to replace substance use
- Experiential modalities, including Adventure Therapy, music and art therapy, mixed martial arts, yoga, fitness, and more
- Strength-based academic instruction and tutoring through our accredited educational program, to ensure teens stay on track with educational and career goals
- Robust alumni programming to keep teens in recovery connected to like-minded peers and a network of caring professionals
Contact Us to Get Started
If you’re a parent of a teen or young adult in need of support, or you work with young people who need a higher level of care to address mental health or substance abuse issue, we can help. Newport Healthcare provides individualized, solutions-based treatment to meet each teen, young adult, and family where they are in the journey of healing. Contact our National Clinical Outreach Team today to find out more about our residential program in St. Cloud and start the referral process.