Bartlett Regional | House Calls | Fall 2020

Reach out Outpatient Psychiatric Services offers: X Medication-assisted treatment. X Psychiatric services. X Licensed therapists. X Family therapy. X Play therapy, EMDR, DBT and client-tailored approaches. X Emergency services. Telehealth appointments are available. Call 907-796-8498 . You’re covered Health insurance plans, including Medicaid, Medicare, Tricare, Premera and Aetna, have adjusted their payment structure to allow for telehealth services. “We don’t want insurance to be a barrier,” emphasizes Bartlett Chief Behavioral Health Officer Bradley Grigg. “If someone needs our services, we have a sliding fee scale. We encourage people to call us if insurance is not an option. We do not want financial circumstances to prevent a person from reaching out for help.” SUICIDE PREVENTION Call 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741741 to get help 24/7. X Encourage them to stay connected. Allow them to spend time video chatting or gaming with friends. X Urge them to go for a walk or run outside. Getting outside can help. Adding exercise can help even more. X Steer them toward activities they can do at home. They might enjoy creating a vlog of life during the pandemic or doing video workouts. X Spend quality time together. Take part in an activity or conversation of your teen’s choice. X Encourage hobbies. Creative activities like buildingmodels or painting can instill a feeling of joy and accomplishment. X Limit daily news intake. This can help everyone in the household feel calmer. Think your teen is depressed? Suicide is on the rise during the pandemic, especially among teens. At Bartlett, we’ve seen a distinct increase in emergency mental health visits, many of them teens and younger children (see chart below). Children and teens who have experienced a mental health crisis during the COVID-19 shutdown have mentioned isolation from their support networks, lack of sports programs and difficulties with at-home schooling as major contributing factors. Talk with your child’s doctor if you have concerns about their mental health. The doctor can advise you on what steps to take next. Is COVID-19 bringing your teen down? Living with the fear and restrictions of COVID-19 has been enough to bring anyone down, but teens may be especially affected. It’s normal for your teen to feel sad during these times. But how can you tell if they need a little extra emotional support? The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests you look for these signs that your teen is struggling: X Unusual changes in mood or behavior. Is your teen irritable? Texting and talking to their friends less often than expected? X Lack of interest in things they enjoy. X Difficulty sleeping or sleeping toomuch. X Problems with memory or thinking. X Lack of personal hygiene. How you can help One of the best things you can do to help a struggling teen is to let them know you’re there for them. Acknowledge their feelings of sadness and even anger. Try to stay positive yourself. Express optimism that things will get better. You can also help if you: X Talk honestly with your teen. Correct any misinformation about COVID-19 they may have in a calm, factual way. Stress the importance of social distancing to stop the spread of the virus. Visits pre-shutdown Visits post shutdown Children’s psychiatric emergency department visits Ages 14–17 Ages 13 and under Based on Bartlett emergency department intakes from July 2019 to March 2020 (pre-shutdown) and from April 2020 to June 2020 (post shutdown). www.bartletthospital.org 9