Dolly Parton Children's Hospital gives tips on children's mental health

Added: 2026-05-21

[00:00:00]May is Mental Health Awareness Month and this morning we're talking about children's mental health. Dolly Parton Children's Hospital is trying to make sure children get care for all their needs, including their mental health.

[00:00:10]Emily Crabtree spoke with leaders with the hospital's psychology department to learn more.

[00:00:16]When it comes to taking care of patients, the Dolly Parton Children's Hospital wants to make sure they're taking care of the whole child. We've strategically integrated licensed behavioral health providers, so psychologists, um, and other licensed behavioral health into our primary care settings. They say mental health is just as important as physical health. We're really trying to address, um, you know, it's holistic care, right? In a sense of we're trying to address as much of the medical and behavioral problems and issues in the same setting as possible for families.

[00:00:47]And right now, they're seeing some alarming trends. We're seeing children at younger ages meeting diagnostic criteria for anxiety and depression. You know, if you look at the CDC data from 2021, nearly one in five children ages 3 to 17, so about 20%, 21% had been diagnosed with a mental, emotional, or behavioral behavioral health condition.

[00:01:09]They say there are a lot of factors that go into poor mental health, but a big one is social media use. I think a big one that I see and I'm really passionate about is excessive screen time, social media, and YouTube use. We really see that, you know, that's one of the, um, maybe not the only factor, but it really contributes to poor mental health.

[00:01:29]>> She says it's important for parents to look out for any emotional or behavioral changes in their children and to be a listening ear if they need it. Listening to their children's feelings and just validating those emotions, even when we don't fully understand them. I think it's even more critical when we don't understand is that, "Hey, I understand you're feeling this way."

[00:01:49]Um, and that's okay.

[00:01:53]Experts say early intervention is incredibly important when mental health issues arise and if you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, you can reach out to the Mental Health Association of East Tennessee to get connected with a therapist.