• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

FHE Health - Addiction & Mental Health Care Homepage

Drug, Alcohol and Mental Health Treatment

ContactCareers

Call for Immediate Help (833) 596-3502

MENUMENU
  • About
        • About FHE Rehab
          • About FHE Health
          • Our Staff
          • Locations We Serve
          • Testimonials
        • Our Campus
          • Gallery
          • Our Videos
          • The Health and Wellness Center at FHE Health
        • Our Locations
          • Alcohol Rehab
          • Detox Center
          • Drug Rehab
          • Mental Health Center
          • Outpatient Rehab
        • Careers at FHE Health
          • Employment Opportunities
        • Our Expertise
          • Accreditations
          • Educational Opportunities
          • Community Impact Award
          • First Responder Families Podcast
          • First Responder Paws
          • Education Scholarship
  • Addiction
        • Treatment Programs
          • Treatment Program Overview
          • Alcohol Addiction
          • Drug Addiction Treatment
          • Behavioral Addiction
        • Levels of Care
          • Continuum of Care
          • Addiction Detox
          • Inpatient Addiction Treatment
          • Outpatient Addiction Treatment
        • What We Treat
          • Alcoholism
          • Amphetamines
          • Benzodiazepines
          • Cocaine
          • Heroin
          • Opioids
          • Sedative
  • Mental Health
        • Mental Health Rehab
          • Mental Health Rehab
          • Onsite Psychiatric Care
          • Dual Diagnosis
        • Levels of Care
          • Residential Mental Health Care
          • Outpatient Mental Health Care
        • What We Treat
          • ADD & ADHD
          • Anxiety Disorders
          • Bipolar Disorder
          • Depression
          • Eating Disorders
          • Personality Disorders
          • PTSD
          • Schizophrenia
          • Substance Use Disorder
          • Trauma
  • Programs
        • FHE Programs
          • Specialty Program Overview
          • Restore (Mental Health)
          • Empower! (Women's Program)
          • Shatterproof FHE Health(First Responders)
          • Compass Program
        • Support Programs
          • Alumni
          • Family Support
        • Therapies
          • Acupuncture
          • Breathwork Therapy
          • CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy)
          • DBT (Dialectical Behavioral Therapy)
          • EMDR Therapy
          • Expressive Arts Therapy
          • Individual Therapy
          • Group Therapy
          • Gambling Therapy
          • Massage
        • Medical Care
          • Medical Integration
          • Ketamine Infusion
          • IV Vitamin
          • Fitness & Nutrition
          • Medication-Assisted Treatment
          • Medication Management
        • NeuroRehab Services
          • Neuro Rehabilitation
          • Neurofeedback Training
          • Neurostimulation Therapy
          • EEG Brain Mapping
          • Insomnia Treatment for PTSD
  • Resources
        • FHE Guides
          • Understanding Drug Abuse
          • Signs of Addiction
          • The Disease of Addiction
          • Confronting Addiction
          • Staging an Intervention
          • Rehab Success Rate – Does It Really Work?
          • Withdrawal Timelines
          • Life After Rehab
          • LGBTQ+ Community Resources
          • Veteran Resources
          • FHE Podcasts
          • Remote Resources Toolkit
        • Learning Center
          • Help for You
          • Help For Loved Ones
          • Help For Alcoholism
          • Help With Substance Abuse
          • Behavioral & Mental Health
          • Life in Recovery
          • Rehab Explained
          • Addiction Statistics
          • Our Research Articles
          • View All Articles
        • The Experience Blog
          • Addiction News
          • Alumni
          • Community Events
          • Expert Opinions
          • FHE Commentary
          • FHE News
          • Treatment Legislation
          • View All Articles
  • Admissions
        • Insurance
          • Blue Cross Insurance
          • Beacon Health / Value Options Insurance
          • Cigna Insurance
          • Humana Insurance
          • TRICARE Insurance
        • Admissions
          • Steps to Addiction Help
          • Will Insurance Cover Behavioral Treatment?
          • Self-Pay Rehab
        • FAQ
          • Keeping Your Job in Rehab
          • Example Day in Rehab
        • Contact Admissions
          • Contact Us
          • Secure Payment Form
  • Contact
  •  
Home > Featured in Recovery > What’s the Post-Pandemic Status of Children’s Mental Health?

February 14, 2023 By Chris Foy

What’s the Post-Pandemic Status of Children’s Mental Health?

Post-Pandemic Children's Mental Health Status

When the world shut down in March 2020, many kids were excited for what they thought might be a bonus spring break from school. However, it soon became obvious that COVID-19 was no vacation and the pandemic was going to have wide-ranging consequences for everyone — especially the youngest members of society.

One of the most seismic and immediate changes was the way nearly all schools needed to suddenly shift to a remote or hybrid learning environment. This transition wasn’t always smooth, and its success depended on numerous factors that were often outside of kids’ and adults’ control. Turns out, kindergarten Zoom lessons are quite difficult when youngsters are sitting in their bedrooms full of all their favorite toys.

For older students, the effects of the pandemic have proved more dire, as many teens didn’t have the opportunity to properly continue or finish their education and develop important bonds with their peers. Sports practices, proms, graduations and even just old-fashioned teenage mischief were often lost entirely or reduced to a screen.

While the aftermath of this period will be studied for decades, a picture is already starting to emerge of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on teens’ mental health.

How the COVID-19 Pandemic Influenced Teens’ Mental Health

The shift to remote schooling and social distancing measures meant kids were spending even more time by themselves staring at digital devices. Teens’ mental health was already on the decline prior to COVID-19. One study from Express Scripts shows that from 2015 to 2019, teen prescriptions for antidepressants rose by 38%, compared to a 15% rise during the same time period for adults. The pandemic only exacerbated this trend and today, over a quarter of kids ages 12–17 report having depressive episodes.

Predictably, more kids reported spending more time on their devices. Apps such as TikTok skyrocketed in popularity and resulted in children spending significant portions of their day on the internet.

Schools as a Mental Health Resource Suffered

Recently, schools have become much more than a place to learn reading, writing, and arithmetic. Many children rely on their schools for both their emotional and social needs, and as a result, educators play an increasingly dynamic and important role in shaping students’ lives.

School guidance counselors and psychologists often serve as frontline resources for students who need assistance with managing their mental health. The preexisting school mental health care provider shortage was compounded when the pandemic simultaneously drove vulnerable students out of school and even deeper into the grips of anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and mental health issues. With remote learning, many students in crisis slipped through the cracks and were, unfortunately, left to their own devices when it came to managing their mental health.

In addition to losing key adult support, students were also separated from their friends and peers during the initial and subsequent COVID-19 waves that necessitated a turn to the virtual world. Teens and young adults reported increases in loneliness — which was already on the rise pre-pandemic.

The Learning Routine Was Negatively Impacted

For kindergartners and high school seniors alike, kitchen tables were turned into classrooms in the blink of an eye. The sudden rise of remote learning meant that children of all ages had to adapt to receiving instruction online with varying levels of support and success.

However, it’s well-established that children with special needs and IEPs (individualized educational plans) disproportionately suffer from remote learning. Many special education students were unable to access the usual therapies and support systems that make their education possible. These students tend to need specialized attention from trained educators, and the disruption of in-person schooling meant children with special needs were often unable to fully participate in their education.

Additionally, 31 states reported decreases in the number of graduating students in 2021. Unfortunately, some schools lost track of students’ whereabouts entirely as truancy rates soared during virtual learning.

Beyond the stress of remote learning, many children were also thrust into the role of caretaker for their relatives, whether that was siblings, parents, or grandparents. Food insecurity was also more pronounced during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many adults lost their incomes and struggled to provide for their families, and students lost the consistent, free or low-cost meals they typically had at school. These added responsibilities and stressors undoubtedly made it even more difficult for students to focus on school.

It Will Take Time to Fully Understand the Pandemic’s Mental Health Impact

As with much of the effects of the pandemic, it’s still too soon to definitively know exactly how the pandemic will affect children in both the short and long term. It’s unclear when — or even if — children will fully recover from the mental health impact of the pandemic.

Private schools saw a significant increase in enrollment as a result of the pandemic. Research suggests that children enrolled in private schools are slightly less likely to report having a mental health condition as an adult.

Similarly, homeschooling has risen in popularity over the last couple of years. While it remains to be seen how this uptick in alternate education will play out, there’s no question that parents and their children are making decisions that have the potential to bring about substantial shifts to the learning landscape.

Despite all the negative consequences remote learning ushered in, there’s evidence that remote learning did provide a welcomed reprieve to certain students who are vulnerable to bullying. Data indicates that reports of bullying declined during periods of virtual instruction. Furthermore, cyberbullying also precipitously dropped, even though more kids were spending more time online.

The Importance of Being Resilient

Many adults can learn from the youth when it comes to lessons in resilience and adaptation. Kids everywhere navigated making meaningful connections in a digital world, balancing school and other responsibilities, and, in some cases, even walking across the virtual graduation stage.

Appropriate mental health care can help ensure that the kids are alright. Parents and healthcare providers should focus on creating an open dialogue with kids to give them the space to express their needs. FHE serves individuals of all ages who are suffering from a mental health condition or supporting someone who is. Contact FHE to start the journey of healthy living for yourself and your loved ones.

Filed Under: Featured in Recovery, Life in Recovery

About Chris Foy

Chris Foy is a content manager and webmaster for FHE Health with years of experience in the addiction treatment industry...read more

Primary Sidebar

Learning Center

  • Help for You
  • Help For Loved Ones
  • Help For Alcoholism
  • Help With Substance Abuse
  • Behavioral & Mental Health
  • Life in Recovery
  • Rehab Explained
  • All Articles

Sign up for the Blog

Our Facilities

Take a look at our state of the art treatment center.

View Our Gallery

The Experience Blog

  • Addiction News
  • Alumni
  • Community Events
  • Expert Columns
  • FHE Commentary
  • FHE News
  • Treatment Legislation
  • All Articles

Footer

FHE Health

© 2025 FHE Health

505 S Federal Hwy #2,
Deerfield Beach, Florida 33441
1-833-596-3502
youtube facebook instagram linkedin twitter
  • Contact
  • Careers at FHE Health
  • Privacy Policy
  • Sitemap
A+ BBB and Top Places to Work - Sun Sentinel

Copyright © 2025 · FHE Theme On Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Manage Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}

The FHE Health team is committed to providing accurate information that adheres to the highest standards of writing. If one of our articles is marked with a ‘reviewed for accuracy and expertise’ badge, it indicates that one or more members of our team of doctors and clinicians have reviewed the article further to ensure accuracy. This is part of our ongoing commitment to ensure FHE Health is trusted as a leader in mental health and addiction care.

If there are any concerns about content we have published, please reach out to us at marketing@fhehealth.com.

833-596-3502

Text/Call Me