Thursday is World Teen Mental Health Day. A time to raise awareness about the mental health issues teens is facing. Getting your child connected to support just got a little easier as Common Ground in Oakland County is stepping up its efforts to help Michigan children in need.
This week Common Ground announced they are expanding their virtual behavioral health urgent care to youth ages 12 and older.
The concept is like a typical urgent care, but you can access everything from a phone or laptop instead of walking in.
“This is psychiatric care that’s delivered in an urgent care model,” said Heidi Warrington, Common Ground Chief Nursing Officer. “And it’s innovative. It’s revolutionary. It’s brand new.”
She says there’s only one other program like it in the state. With telehealth technology, Common Ground can bridge the gap between a patient and a primary provider.
“If somebody’s already seeing a psychiatrist, we want to bridge them over. So, we’re going to treat them and then get them back to their base psychiatrist,” said Warrington. “If they don’t have one, we’re going to connect them to one.”
This virtual urgent care has only been around for about a year, but opening services to children as young as 12 are addressing a need Common Ground is seeing.
“We’ve had two mass shootings, both in a local vicinity in Michigan, Oxford and Michigan State,” Warrington said. “Kids go to school thinking, ' This might be my day.’ I mean, kids are going to school in fear, in addition to their already baseline anxiety level. So, we need to give these services to these students to let them know that it’s okay.”
While there is a stigma surrounding mental health, she says parents can help change that by supporting their children when they need it.
“Look for a change in behavior. That’s all it is. Whether they’re increased anxiety, or they’re not going to social functions when they normally did, are they staying in their room more; any type of change,” said Warrington.
And if there is a change, just call Behavioral Health Urgent Care at 248-983-5454. It doesn’t matter where you live in the state of Michigan.
“You’re going to be in the privacy of your own home, in a confidential manner, and you’re going to get the help you need because the suicide rate for teens has escalated, and we need to manage the symptoms early and intervene early,” said Warrington.