WATCH: It Takes 8-10 Years to Seek Mental Health Treatment

June 4, 2018

When adolescents experience symptoms of mental illness, it takes an average of 8-10 years for them to access treatment. We need to make it easier for adolescents to recognize and talk about their experience, so that they can get the help that they need. Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 10 and 24. More than one third of high school students with a mental health condition drop-out of school. One in 5 people in the United States have or will have a mental illness, 50% of mental illnesses begin by age 14 and 75% by age 24. We must make it easier for adolescents to open up about mental health. Let’s destigmatize mental health and give our children the support they deserve.

The newly launched Foundation initiative “Disability Is Diversity” produced its first video to conclude Mental Health Awareness Month. The video features Foundation Program Officer Miriam Heyman discussing the statistic that it takes adolescents on average 8-10 years to access treatment after experiencing mental illness.