#69: What if more therapy isn't the answer?

Hi friends,

There is not just one “mental health crisis”.

I believe there are three distinct problems. And each requires a different set of solutions.

First, there is the youth mental health crisis; rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide are at alarming levels among young people. This drastic change in prevalence, the severity of the outcomes, and the degree of environmental change young people are experiencing creates, what I believe, is a distinct problem.

The second crisis is that of severe mental illness (SMI). This is not a crisis of increasing prevalence - rates are mostly constant - but a crisis of care. We don’t have good enough treatments for these people, and many don’t receive treatment at all. Their outcomes are terrible, and they deserve better.

Finally, there is a crisis of mild depression and anxiety among adults. That’s the focus of today’s report.

Some people call this group “the worried-well”, the “small D depressed”, or just those who are languishing.

Whichever phrase you choose, it is clear that something troubling is happening for this group in our society. And I’m not convinced more therapy is the answer.