The psychological well being of our youngest members has by no means been extra vital. 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 kids and teenage members.
Youth Psychological Well being Impacts Us All
Sadly, behavioral well being circumstances like nervousness and melancholy have been on the rise amongst kids, adolescents, and younger adults. And the World Happiness Report 2024 reveals happiness amongst younger individuals has declined within the U.S.
One in every of 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 hysteria or melancholy in 2023.4
The rise in behavioral well being issues for younger individuals doesn’t simply affect the youngsters. Dad and mom and caregivers are additionally affected, and, consequently, so are their employers. Virtually half of staff have a toddler youthful than 18. And 53 % of working dad and mom have missed work a minimum of as soon as monthly to are inclined to their little one’s psychological well being.5
For the well-being of our younger individuals 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 vital for the well-being of youngsters and teenagers, so we’re making it simpler for them to get the care they want shortly.
When members want steering or care associated to their little one’s behavioral well being, they’ll rely on our Behavioral Well being crew, who can:
- Assess and perceive the kid’s wants
- Present details about in-network therapy choices and assets
- Put them in contact with a Behavioral Well being Case Supervisor for ongoing assist
- Join them to an acceptable in-network behavioral well being supplier to facilitate quick entry to the care they want
- Give in-the-moment assist throughout robust instances
Members can schedule appointments immediately with an in-network supplier, or our Behavioral Well being crew can immediately schedule appointments with an IBX behavioral well being community supplier for them. We can assist members get an appointment shortly — 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 basic psychological well being points.
Enriching the IBX Behavioral Well being Community
We now have expanded the IBX behavioral well being community by practically 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 kids, adolescents, younger adults, and households. Listed here are a few of them.
Little Otter
Little Otter makes use of a family-first strategy, which acknowledges that when one a part of a household unit struggles, it could possibly affect everybody. They provide digital psychological well being care for kids ages 0 – 14 and their households, together with remedy and psychiatry. Little Otter’s custom-made strategy features a complete platform that mixes on a regular basis wellness instruments with an award-winning little one remedy app. Their web site additionally provides myriad assets for households.
Blackbird Well being
Blackbird Well being offers 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 treatment administration and discuss remedy. Blackbird makes a speciality of treating nervousness, melancholy, consideration deficit dysfunction, behavioral issues, 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 circumstances affecting children ages 8 – 24, together with melancholy, household points, anger administration, and little one behavioral issues. They’ve extremely skilled suppliers on workers who concentrate on household psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral remedy, dialectical conduct remedy, and different evidence-based approaches. Handspring Well being works intently with group companions, together with pediatricians and colleges, to make sure coordinated care.
Hopscotch
Hopscotch provides digital care for teenagers ages 1 – 26, together with discuss and play remedy. Hopscotch’s therapy mannequin consists of an internet portal that helps remedy exterior of reside therapy via video games, actions, and mindfulness workout routines. In addition 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 crew treats nervousness, melancholy, stress, and different psychological well being challenges. Joon has devoted licensed therapists who can present customized therapy plans. In addition they supply skill-building assets for sufferers and assist for folks, together with optionally available check-ins.
IBX Members Are Not Alone
We now have made nice progress in making behavioral well being companies simpler for our members to entry, however we aren’t finished. We’ll proceed specializing in younger members and their households and discovering methods to boost the advantages and assets we provide. Most significantly, we wish to educate our members about these companies in order 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 Youngsters,” 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 Youngsters’s Hospital, “The Nice Collide: The Affect of Youngsters’s Psychological Well being on the Office,” Nationwide Basis, Feb. 22, 2022.
Little Otter, Blackbird Well being, Handspring Well being, Hopscotch, and Joon are impartial firms.
