Rates of teen depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation are at historic highs around the country, including the state of Connecticut. Moreover, Connecticut is one of the hardest places to find adolescent treatment. The shortage of providers is so extreme that two-thirds of teens in the state with major depression don’t receive any Connecticut mental health services.
Not only is there a lack of outpatient and residential programs in Connecticut for teens with depression, anxiety, trauma and other mental health issues, there is also a shortage of school mental health providers. The 2022 Hopeful Futures report found that Connecticut has about half the recommended number of school counselors and school social workers. A legislative task force recently investigated the need for Connecticut mental health centers in schools, and found that 157 schools in the state lack critical on-site health services.
Connecticut Teen Mental Health Statistics 2022
Each year, Mental Health America (MHA) ranks all 50 states and Washington DC in terms of mental health, substance abuse, and access to care. According to MHA’s 2022 report, 15 percent of Connecticut teens—39,000 adolescents—had at least one major depressive episode during the year. In addition, 8 percent of Connecticut teens had severe major depressive disorder.
The state of Connecticut ranked 41st out of the 50 states in terms of youth access to care, making it one of the hardest places to find teen treatment.
MHA’s 2022 Connecticut statistics show that 65.6 percent of teens aren’t getting care for their depression or other mental health concerns. Due to the shortage of Connecticut mental health treatment centers, fewer than 1 in 4 of teens with depression received any consistent mental healthcare at all. And 5,000 teens did not have any insurance coverage for mental or emotional problems.
Looking at teen substance abuse statistics in Connecticut, MHA found that 4 percent of Connecticut teens—10,000 adolescents—suffered from substance abuse disorder. In addition, the Hub, a behavioral health action organization for Southwestern Connecticut, found that teens in this region have an increasingly low perception of risk when it comes to substance use—particularly marijuana use and binge drinking.
Student Surveys Focus on Connecticut Teen Mental Health
The Connecticut Department of Public Health conducts a biannual Connecticut School Health Survey of public school students in Grades 9–12. According to the most recent report, 70 percent of students reported that their mental health was not good in the past 30 days. They reported experiencing stress, depression, and problems with emotions on at least one day in the month prior to the survey.
Moreover, 30 percent of students surveyed said that, during the past year, they had had at least one period of two weeks or more during which they felt sad or hopeless almost every day—sad enough to stop doing some of their usual activities. Teen girls were most likely to report feeling sad and hopeless.
In Southwestern CT, anxiety was the greatest mental health concern for teens, with 64 percent reporting symptoms of anxiety. Depression and trauma followed anxiety as the most common mental health issues among this age group.
“There’s not enough mental health resources. The resources are very limited. I think the assumption is that Connecticut is wealthy, so there must be lots of resources. And that’s really not the case.”
—Elizabeth Murdoch, director of behavioral health at Connecticut’s Family and Children’s Agency
Rising Suicide Rates Among Connecticut Youth
An increase in suicidal ideation and suicide attempts is another result of the lack of Connecticut mental health services, including both individual providers and CT anxiety and depression treatment centers. Data from the Connecticut School Health Survey found the following Connecticut teen mental health statistics regarding teen self-harm and suicide:
- 18.4 percent of youth in grades 9 through 12 responded yes to the question of whether they had done something to purposely hurt themselves without wanting to die. Hispanic youth were the most likely to answer yes to this question.
- 13.5 percent of Connecticut youth said that they had seriously contemplated attempting suicide in the previous 12 months. Teen girls of color had the highest rates of suicidal ideation.
- 8 percent of youth reported that they had tried to attempt suicide in the previous 12 months. Black youth were most likely to have made a suicide attempt.
15%
of Connecticut teens have had at least one major depressive episode
8%
of the state’s teens have severe major depressive disorder
10,000
teens in Connecticut suffer from substance use disorder
Treatment works.
Effective treatments for mental health disorders, especially if they begin soon after symptoms appear, can help reduce the impact on an adolescent’s life. hhs.gov
Two-thirds
of Connecticut teens with depression don’t receive any mental healthcare
1 in 4
adolescents reported being sad or depressed in a survey of more than 1,200 Southington CT middle and high school students
Newport Academy’s Connecticut Mental Health Services for Adolescents and Families
Newport Academy is responding to the need for Connecticut mental health services by expanding our programming in this region. We offer compassionate, evidence-based care at our adolescent residential treatment centers in Connecticut. We also have outpatient programs in CT for both teens and young adults.
Newport’s programs for troubled youth in Connecticut address the underlying trauma and attachment wounds that catalyze mental health and co-occurring disorders. Our team of experts provides comprehensive and individualized care to address anxiety, depression, substance abuse, self-harm, and other maladaptive behaviors. Each client in our teen treatment centers in Connecticut is given a tailored treatment plan, designed by a team of medical and behavioral healthcare experts. Teens’ daily schedules include a variety of evidence-based clinical, experiential, and academic modalities.
Treatment is provided in a supportive, caring environment where teens can connect with peers and mentors, ending the isolation and loneliness that is so prevalent among today’s young people. Our licensed clinicians specialize in treating trauma and related issues through proven modalities such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, EFT, and EMDR. Our approach also involves family in the healing process, and our clinicians use the groundbreaking Attachment-Based Family Therapy model to repair parent-child relationships, an essential component of sustainable recovery.
Learn More About Our Adolescent Residential Treatment Centers in Connecticut
Our beautiful Connecticut mental health centers have dedicated spaces for experiential modalities such as music and art therapy, yoga, meditation, and other mindfulness practices. In both our residential program and Partial Hospitalization Program, clients spend structured time in the classroom each day, and with tutors as necessary, so they can continue to make academic progress while receiving the treatment they need.
Whether a teen needs the healing environment provided by residential care, or the structure and support of an outpatient program, we can help you find Connecticut mental health services that will best support them. Call us today to find out how we can help your teen—we’re here 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our Admissions experts work with families and referring professionals to find the right fit for teens who need comprehensive care.