Important Mental Health

Important Mental Health
When life becomes chaotic and feels like it is falling apart, it is easy to feel alone and depressed. And when you are an abused or neglected child who has been separated from family and shuttled from home to home, the feelings can become incred­ibly overwhelming and isolating—perhaps even spinning out of control. For many in foster care, the result of this kind of emo­tional trauma is the development of a mental health disorder. They find themselves in a system that is ill-equipped to provide the mental health services they need and that can further impede their progress towards emotional well-being.
According to the World Health Orga­nization, nearly 20% of children and ado­lescents worldwide suffer from some type of emotional or behavioral problem. The U.S. Surgeon General reports that roughly 1 in 10 American children experience a mental illness severe enough to cause significant impairment. The prevalence of mental health problems of youth in foster care is even more staggering. “Anywhere from 40 to 85% of kids in foster care have mental health disorders, depending on which report you read,” says Stephen Hornberger, director of behavioral health for the Child Welfare League of America.
The reasons for these high numbers are understandable. Children in foster care are struggling to cope with the traumatic events that brought them into care, includ­ing parental abuse or neglect, homelessness and exposure to domestic violence and substance abuse. While they struggle to deal with the tremendous loss of their fam­ily, they also frequently blame themselves for being removed. Many children long to
return to their families, regardless of the history of mistreatment. At a time when they desperately need a sense of consistency and stability, they are living in the uncertain world that is foster care: multiple place­ments, unpredictable contact with family and the inability to control their own lives. These conditions can be a hotbed for serious emotional disturbances.
Although it is clear that a large number of children and youth in foster care are in need of mental health care, studies show that less than one-third receive mental health services. One of the reasons is the lack of experienced mental health profes­sionals available to this population. “There is a shortage of well trained providers who can deal specifically with loss issues,” says Dr. Toni Heineman, clinical psychologist and executive director of A Home Within, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping meet the mental health needs of children in foster care. Heineman adds that a recent, informal survey revealed that only 3% of mental health providers work with children in foster care. Those that do are often inexperienced trainees unfamiliar with navigating the child welfare system and only available for one year. “Being abused, neglected and removed from their family are extraordinarily painful experiences for these kids,” she says. “Put them with people who aren’t well trained and it can be an over­whelming experience for both parties.”