APA Foundation Blog

80.3 million people were forcibly displaced people around the world by persecution, conflict, and war in 2021. To help the displaced children and adolescents in their adjustment and mental wellness, we need to understand what molds their trajectories.

For nearly two years, mental health specialists across America have been eagerly—perhaps nervously—anticipating the transition to a shorter, simpler suicide lifeline number.

It is only four weeks until the new 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is launched on July 16, 2022. A survey of behavioral health directors showed they did not feel ready for this roll out. Clearly, the full implementation will continue beyond July 16.

We attempt to keep children safe by sending them to schools, typically seen as a protected place in society. What happens when that expectation of safety is not met, and our smallest and most defenseless population is put in grave danger?

In October 2020, Congress passed the bipartisan National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, which designated the three-digit phone number “9-8-8” as the easier-to-remember suicide lifeline. The idea is simple, but the implementation is not.

Children have faced many pandemic-related hardships, including social isolation, school closures, increased screen time, stressed caregivers, financial difficulties, reduced access to health care, and loss of loved ones.

The relationship between social media use and mental health is complicated and ever-changing. The strategies that social media sites use to engage us can affect people differently depending on if they struggle with mental health challenges or not.

Stress and anxiety are at an all-time high with the pandemic and increased isolation. Schools are the perfect place to address students’ mental well-being while also increasing mental health knowledge and promoting help-seeking behavior.