ORLANDO, Fla. — Health workers say they are hoping a program being implemented by Nemours Children’s Health will help address teen suicides in Central Florida.

In an age of rapidly changing technology, a 2023 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report on youth behavior shows 20% of high school students who frequently use social media experienced feelings of hopelessness and seriously considered self-harm.

But the Nemours health care system is making a push to try and catch the signs of trouble sooner in order to protect children’s mental health.

What You Need To Know

A program being implemented by Nemours Children’s Health will make mental health services available at primary care offices
Dr. Monica Barreto, the clinical director of Behavioral Health with Nemours Primary Care-Florida, said her team is focused on getting teens help early

Barretto said the program has led to 11,000 behavioral health visits for teens since it started in 2021

Dr. Monica Barreto, the clinical director of Behavioral Health with Nemours Primary Care-Florida, said her team is focused on getting teens help early. 

“We often do work a lot with families where the teenager may be experiencing severe levels of depression, where thoughts of suicide may be coming up or self-harm,” she said.

The Nemours program makes mental health services for children and teens available in the primary care offices where their families already go. 

“Doing it in primary care normalizes that,” Barreto said. “It’s a safe space — the same place that you come to for your ear infection or cold — and it helps families feel safe and comfortable.”

Barretto said that during visits, every child aged 12 and older is supposed to fill out a Patient Health Questionnaire-9, or PHQ-9, form, which is a survey to see if they feel depressed. One of the questions specifically asks teens if they recently thought about hurting themselves. 

“When a teen answers yes, we get them started with therapy,” she said. “We reach them where they’re at and see, can we provide support briefly here in primary care, or do they maybe need higher level of support? And we bridge that care gap.”

The need for a program like this was made apparent recently in Seminole County where the recent deaths of three high school students in a single week appear to be the result of suicide.

Law enforcement officials say the students attended Lyman High School, Winter Springs High School and Hagerty High School. 

The Seminole County School District sent an email to all families, secondary students and staff members, to remind students they are never alone, and help is always available. The email also reminded parents and students that each campus have trained mental health professionals who are either on-site or available to provide support, guidance and care when needed.

Anyone who may be thinking about hurting themselves, or knows someone who is, can get help from the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988.    

Barretto said spotting the signs of depression can be tough for many parents, but there are signs of trouble they can watch for.

“Things to look out for are withdrawals, increasing irritability, frustration, avoiding things that may be scary or stressful,” she said.

While research shows young people can benefit from social support online, preparing them to safely engage and build meaningful connections offline is something Barretto said is also very important.

“Teaching them how to use the internet,” she said. “How to also balance the use of being online and connecting via the phone, and also connecting and communicating in real life with others.”

Since the program started, the Nemours Children’s Health’s primary care team has provided 11,000 behavioral health visits for children and teens at their primary care offices in Central Florida.

“The earlier we can teach someone, the more probability we have of not getting to that place of overwhelm,” Barretto said.

Nemours officials said that as they open new primary care offices for children’s health in Central Florida, they will continue to incorporate mental health screenings into those offices.