The Crisis Behind Our Mental Health Crisis

Okay, so we have a top-down problem.

Our federal and state governing bodies really don't have much of a clue of what we're dealing with on the ground and in the trenches with our kids, especially when they really start to struggle with their mental health.

These entities control some of the funding, the rules, the regulations, and the oversight.

Prior to COVID, things on the mental health front were not good.

After COVID, things got a lot worse.

During the pandemic, state regulators opened up the rules and restrictions on therapy.

We pivoted to online therapy, and the rules were and continue to be pretty lax.

A frustrating trend that started to occur and continues to occur was that with everyone online for therapy and psychiatry, along with relaxed rules, many business-minded people saw this as an opportunity to create a money grab.

Venture capitalists, private equity firms gathered hundreds of millions of dollars and threw up online therapy and psychiatry services.

They started throwing large sums of money at any and all therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists to lure them away from the offices where they were seeing families in person and put them onto online telehealth platforms.

They didn't care about treatment outcomes.

They didn't care about coordination of care.

They didn't care or vet how good of a provider they were putting in there.

They simply needed bodies, and they had the money to lure them, and in doing so, they could throw tons of money at app designs and advertising in order to bring as many clients in simply to make money, and this continues today.

What many people don't realize is that with luring the providers onto the online platforms They really dwindled the pool of in-person providers down to really nothing, and these are the people in your city and county that your family will rely on, especially when you have a problem.

I get it from the provider's perspective.

It's more money, and it's easier.

I don't have to be in the trenches anymore.

I can sit behind a screen and make money.

Most of the kids we see since COVID prefer in-person therapy, and honestly, it's way more effective because it's interpersonal, and interpersonal contact stimulates all of your senses, which also helps you to be more present, focused.

It allows you to comprehend better and free of distractions, which results in better outcomes.

The regulators and governing boards have not changed the parameters to bring everyone back into in-person therapy, and our system will continue to struggle until they do.

Insurance companies have been trimming the fat progressively since the 1980s, denying more claims, making everything about return of investment, and reimbursing less, especially for mental health.

The reimbursement rates for mental health got so bad that many of the child and adolescent specialists, which are harder to come by, went onto private pay.

We had to do this when we were creating the Weichman Clinic.

Okay, so we have a top-down problem.

Our federal and state governing bodies really don't have much of a clue of what we're dealing with on the ground and in the trenches with our kids, especially when they really start to struggle with their mental health.

These entities control some of the funding, the rules, the regulations, and the oversight.

Prior to COVID, things on the mental health front were not good.

After COVID, things got a lot worse.

During the pandemic, state regulators opened up the rules and restrictions on therapy.

We pivoted to online therapy, and the rules were and continue to be pretty lax.

A frustrating trend that started to occur and continues to occur was that with everyone online for therapy and psychiatry, along with relaxed rules, many business-minded people saw this as an opportunity to create a money grab.

Venture capitalists, private equity firms gathered hundreds of millions of dollars and threw up online therapy and psychiatry services.

They started throwing large sums of money at any and all therapists, psychologists, psychiatrists to lure them away from the offices where they were seeing families in person and put them onto online telehealth platforms.

They didn't care about treatment outcomes.

They didn't care about coordination of care.

They didn't care or vet how good of a provider they were putting in there.

They simply needed bodies, and they had the money to lure them, and in doing so, they could throw tons of money at app designs and advertising in order to bring as many clients in simply to make money, and this continues today.

What many people don't realize is that with luring the providers onto the online platforms They really dwindled the pool of in-person providers down to really nothing, and these are the people in your city and county that your family will rely on, especially when you have a problem.

I get it from the provider's perspective.

It's more money, and it's easier.

I don't have to be in the trenches anymore.

I can sit behind a screen and make money.

Most of the kids we see since COVID prefer in-person therapy, and honestly, it's way more effective because it's interpersonal, and interpersonal contact stimulates all of your senses, which also helps you to be more present, focused.

It allows you to comprehend better and free of distractions, which results in better outcomes.

The regulators and governing boards have not changed the parameters to bring everyone back into in-person therapy, and our system will continue to struggle until they do.

Insurance companies have been trimming the fat progressively since the 1980s, denying more claims, making everything about return of investment, and reimbursing less, especially for mental health.

The reimbursement rates for mental health got so bad that many of the child and adolescent specialists, which are harder to come by, went onto private pay.

We had to do this when we were creating the Weichman Clinic.