Intermountain Health offers tips and resources for back-to-school anxieties

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — According to Intermountain Health, routine changes in the fall and spring — like starting and ending school — are typically a time when mental health cases rise.

“Mental health is really fascinating to me,” Taylorsville resident Johnathan Spicer said. “To everyone, we are all in this together.”

Spicer has been spending the final days of summer break at the park with his daughter. He said he looks forward to the school year.

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“It’s really great that the school system operates as well as it does,” Spicer said.

He is aware of the mental health challenges kids face today.

“It’s a real thing,” Spicer said. “It’s pretty clear, it’s something I imagine we are all struggling with. Coping, what a wild word to find yourself in.”

Amanda Choudhary, senior director for pediatric behavioral health services with Intermountain Health said this is a common belief across the country.

“We know across our country there is a national youth mental health crisis,” Choudhary said.

Choudhary oversees pediatric behavioral health services at Intermountain Health. She said there are many ways to help your kids navigate going back to school.

“Model enthusiasm about going back to school,” Choudhary said. “Maybe that’s excitement about a new teacher, seeing friends again.”

Choudhary said it’s also important to ask kids open-ended questions and create routine during the time of change. This will allow parents to detect stressors.

“It’s normal for a child to have a bad day here or there to come home from school in tears one day,” Choudhary said. “But if that’s happening daily or several times a week that’s a sign of distress and something to be aware of.”

She said there is a wide range of what is triggering mental health crises, but there are clues in the rise of the amount of needed resources.

“It does correspond to the timing of more social media use in kids over the last decade,” Choudhary said.

For Spicer, it’s something he plans to keep an eye on.

“It’s a long journey but we’re doing well,” Spicer said. “She’s happy.”

If you need resources on how to help your child, check out the list below.

Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital “Talk to Tweens” Resources: These resources, from the experts at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, can help parents and teachers start conversations with children and help them identify, express, and manage their feelings in a healthy way. The free “Talk to Tweens” tools, which can be downloaded in both English and Spanish at TalkToTweens.org and hableconsusjovenes.org, include conversation starters, a downloadable Feelings Wheel, and additional tips for families.
Free Assessment, Referral, Consultation Service (ARCS): 801-313-7711 : This statewide service can help families learn about and connect to services that are available for children close to their communities.
Free In-Home Stabilization and Mobile Response: 1-833-SAFE-FAM: This service dispatches a team to homes in moments of need to help stabilize children in crisis.
National Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: 988 : This resource offers free support if you or someone you love, adult or child, is in crisis.
SafeUT app: This is a free app that offers a crisis chat line for real-time crisis intervention for students, parents or guardians, and educators, through live chat and a confidential tip line.
Pediatric Crisis Assessments Available 24/7: This resource is available through the emergency departments at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital campuses in Salt Lake City and Lehi.
Partial-Hospitalization Programs at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital: These programs are available at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital locations, including the Miller Family Campus in Lehi, the Salt Lake Campus, the Wasatch Canyons Campus in Taylorsville, and soon at Intermountain St. George Regional Hospital.
Call 911 or Take Your Child to the Nearest Hospital Emergency Department: Use this resource in the event of self-harm, a suicide attempt, or any other life-threatening emergency.