The psychological well being of our youngest members has by no means been extra essential. At Independence Blue Cross (IBX), we’re strengthening our dedication to youth psychological well being by rising the IBX behavioral well being supplier community and bettering entry for youngsters and teenage members.
Youth Psychological Well being Impacts Us All
Sadly, behavioral well being situations like anxiousness and melancholy have been on the rise amongst kids, adolescents, and younger adults. And the World Happiness Report 2024 reveals happiness amongst younger folks has declined within the U.S.
One among each six kids has a diagnosable psychological well being situation.1 As well as:
- Practically 60 % of youth with main melancholy don’t obtain any psychological well being therapy.2
- Non-white youths have a 35 % decrease analysis charge of main melancholy versus white youths.3
- Greater than half of younger adults ages 18 – 21 reported signs of tension or melancholy in 2023.4
The rise in behavioral well being considerations for younger folks doesn’t simply affect the children. Mother and father and caregivers are additionally affected, and, because of this, so are their employers. Virtually half of workers have a baby youthful than 18. And 53 % of working dad and mom have missed work at the very least as soon as per thirty days to are inclined to their youngster’s psychological well being.5
For the well-being of our younger folks and communities, IBX has strengthened its dedication to youth psychological well being with a deal with serving to households discover high quality in-network behavioral well being care and bettering availability and entry.
Enhanced Care Navigation Companies for Members
We all know that early intervention and built-in care are essential for the well-being of youngsters and teenagers, so we’re making it simpler for them to get the care they want rapidly.
When members want steering or care associated to their youngster’s behavioral well being, they’ll rely on our Behavioral Well being group, who can:
- Assess and perceive the kid’s wants
- Present details about in-network therapy choices and sources
- Put them in contact with a Behavioral Well being Case Supervisor for ongoing assist
- Join them to an applicable in-network behavioral well being supplier to facilitate quick entry to the care they want
- Give in-the-moment assist throughout robust occasions
Members can schedule appointments instantly with an in-network supplier, or our Behavioral Well being group can instantly schedule appointments with an IBX behavioral well being community supplier for them. We may also help members get an appointment rapidly — often inside every week. We work with a number of behavioral well being suppliers that supply quick entry, are culturally responsive, and supply high-quality take care of normal psychological well being points.
Enriching the IBX Behavioral Well being Community
We have now expanded the IBX behavioral well being community by almost 50 % since 2022 to make sure improved entry for each in-person and digital care choices. The sturdy relationships we’ve constructed with these behavioral well being suppliers ensures our members have quick entry to care with confirmed evidence-based approaches for youngsters, adolescents, younger adults, and households. Listed here are a few of them.
Little Otter
Little Otter makes use of a family-first method, which acknowledges that when one a part of a household unit struggles, it will probably affect everybody. They provide digital psychological well being care for youngsters ages 0 – 14 and their households, together with remedy and psychiatry. Little Otter’s personalized method features a complete platform that mixes on a regular basis wellness instruments with an award-winning youngster remedy app. Their web site additionally provides myriad sources for households.
Blackbird Well being
Blackbird Well being supplies diagnostic evaluations and therapy for teenagers ages 2 – 26 who’re scuffling with social, developmental, and school-related challenges. They provide each digital and in-person care. Companies embrace remedy administration and speak remedy. Blackbird makes a speciality of treating anxiousness, melancholy, consideration deficit dysfunction, behavioral considerations, autism evaluations, bipolar dysfunction, and developmental variations (e.g., speech/language, sensory/motor).
Handspring Well being
Handspring Well being makes use of a digital, evidence-based care mannequin to deal with frequent situations affecting children ages 8 – 24, together with melancholy, household points, anger administration, and youngster behavioral problems. They’ve extremely skilled suppliers on employees who focus on household psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral remedy, dialectical habits remedy, and different evidence-based approaches. Handspring Well being works carefully with neighborhood companions, together with pediatricians and faculties, to make sure coordinated care.
Hopscotch
Hopscotch provides digital care for teenagers ages 1 – 26, together with speak and play remedy. Hopscotch’s therapy mannequin consists of a web-based portal that helps remedy outdoors of dwell therapy by means of video games, actions, and mindfulness workout routines. Additionally they present parental coaching to caregivers and household remedy.
Joon
Joon is a digital care mannequin designed to handle frequent points skilled by teenagers and younger adults, ages 13 – 26. Their scientific group treats anxiousness, melancholy, stress, and different psychological well being challenges. Joon has devoted licensed therapists who can present customized therapy plans. Additionally they supply skill-building sources for sufferers and assist for fogeys, together with non-obligatory check-ins.
IBX Members Are Not Alone
We have now made nice progress in making behavioral well being providers simpler for our members to entry, however we’re not finished. We’ll proceed specializing in younger members and their households and discovering methods to reinforce the advantages and sources we provide. Most significantly, we wish to educate our members about these providers so that they use them when they should.
1 Daniel G. Whitney, PhD, and Mark D. Peterson, PhD, “US Nationwide and State-Degree Prevalence of Psychological Well being Problems and Disparities of Psychological Well being Care Use in Kids,” JAMA
2 State of Psychological Well being in America, mhanational.org.
3 BCBSA Well being of America Youth Psychological Well being Report, 2023.
4 The Implications of COVID-19 for Psychological Well being and Substance Use, KFF.org, March 2023.
5 Nationwide Kids’s Hospital, “The Nice Collide: The Impression of Kids’s Psychological Well being on the Office,” Nationwide Basis, Feb. 22, 2022.
Little Otter, Blackbird Well being, Handspring Well being, Hopscotch, and Joon are unbiased firms.