The Pulse from UnitedHealthcare: Supporting employees who have children with mental health needs
Dr. Donald Tavakoli shares how employers can support their employees who have children with mental health needs by offering rich behavioral health benefits and a supportive workplace culture.
By Dr. Donald Tavakoli, National Medical Director of Behavioral Health at UnitedHealthcare
The youth mental health crisis is profoundly affecting working parents and caregivers.1 About 3 in 4 of surveyed parents reported missing work at least one day a month due to their child's emotional health or developmental issues.2 This absenteeism was often accompanied by a significant drop in productivity, with 50% of parents admitting that their thoughts were frequently preoccupied with their children's well-being even while they were at work.2
This distraction is understandable, considering the statistics:
- More than 1 in 5 adolescents reported experiencing anxiety or depression3
- 20% of high school students and 41% of college students reported depression concerns4
- 35% of high school students and 55% of college students reported anxiety issues4
- Suicide is the second-leading cause of death for teens and young adults, ages 10–345
As a father and a licensed, board-certified psychiatrist, I understand the critical need to support parents and caregivers in addressing their children's mental health. Employers can play a vital role in this support. Here are 5 strategies that can make a significant difference:
- Offer integrated behavioral health benefits. Offering robust behavioral health benefits that include mental health screenings during annual preventive care visits can facilitate early detection and intervention. Integrating medical and behavioral health benefits can help facilitate quicker access to care, which is essential for effective management of mental health conditions.
- Work with a carrier that offers an expansive network. Expanding the network of available behavioral health providers and coaches, including those who offer virtual appointments, may help make it easier for parents to find the necessary support for their children. Over the past nearly 5 years, UnitedHealthcare has grown its national behavioral health network by about 90% to over 435,000 providers and its virtual provider network by 3,216% to over 218,000 providers.6
- Provide education around different behavioral health severity issues. Many kids may experience issues that may make them good candidates for lower-severity solutions. In fact, it’s estimated that approximately 50% of members seeking mental health support could be good candidates for low severity solutions, such as virtual behavioral coaching as an alternative to therapy.7 The same may be true for children as well — and child and family behavioral health coaching may be a good option, where a coach and family (parent/caregiver, teen and/or child) meet virtually and build a personalized, goal-oriented partnership based on evidence-based treatment methods to focus on behavioral, functional or other goals, whether anxiety or stress management, ADHD or social media and technology addiction, among others.
- Ensure employees know how to access care. At UnitedHealthcare, In-the-moment support is available 24/7 by phone, in which specialists provide confidential, emotional support tailored to each member. They also help support members on next steps and offer recommendations for ongoing care. Programs like the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), which offers immediate support, can also be invaluable in helping parents navigate the behavioral health challenges family members face.
- Offer tools and resources that meet employees where they are. Providing practical tools and resources, such as conversation starters for discussing mental health with children and apps like Calm Health, can empower parents and teens to better understand and manage their mental health. Calm Health, available to teens aged 16 and older, offers content modules on topics such as “Taking Charge of Your Teen Anxiety,” “Menstrual Cycle Self-Care” and “College Depression.” It also includes specialized content for parents, such as “Parenting Teens with Mental Health Conditions.”
By providing robust behavioral health benefits and fostering a workplace culture that acknowledges and actively supports mental health, employers can significantly contribute to the well-being of their employees' families. This, in turn, may enhance overall productivity and employee satisfaction.
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