Students across Minnesota are showing up to school counselor offices in droves as they look to get a handle on a number of mental health challenges.
"There's so much anxiety, stress, kids who have been at home for over a year who don't know how to deal with their peers, home issues because of the pandemic," said Valley View Middle School Counselor, Michelle Libby, during the The Morning News with Vineeta Sawkar on Thursday. "It's just crazy. Our doors are shut constantly. I barely ever see my peers because we're just like a revolving door."
According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly 1 in 5 children had a mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder prior to the Covid-19 pandemic's start in March 2020. Since the beginning of the pandemic, parents have reported seeing rising metal heath issues in their children.
71 percent of the 1,000 parents surveyed in a study by the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago said the pandemic had a negative impact on their child's mental health.
"It's really sort of triage right now," added Libby.
The number of students seeking help in dealing with their mental health is rising at ever age level according to Becky Mendoza, a licensed school counselor with Como Park Senior High.
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"The number of students coming in that I had not seen prior to the pandemic and also the amount and severity of kind of the concerns they're coming in with, it's a much heavier load than it's been in the past," Mendoza said. "The pandemic has really highlighted the systemic issues that we knew existed beforehand, but weren't really a topic of conversation."
Libby added that she is seeing more students suffering from anxiety.
"Especially social anxiety," she said. "It's sad. The number of kids coming in crying or crying that they don't want to come to school. In middle school we have 11 to 14 year old students and it's really hard to see."
Mendoza, who is also co-president of the Minnesota School Counselors Association, said it's important for parents to remember that they themselves are partner in education and need be a team with educators and counselors.
"If you have the opportunity to have a conversation with the counselor or staff members at your school, talk with them about what's going on," she said. "School board meetings are one place to advocate, but sometimes when you go above that level it's harder to create solutions when things feel tense versus when we have a one-on-one conversation where we remember each person is a human being."