The COVID pandemic has taken a toll on virtually everyone's mental health, but the past few years have been especially hard for teens. Social distancing and remote learning led to higher rates of anxiety and suicidal ideation among young people. Often, the only way they could access mental health care was through a Zoom chat or phone call.
Two years ago, I wrote about my own struggles with remote learning after the high school I attended on Manhattan's Upper East Side paused in-person learning during the pandemic. So I had mixed feelings this January when New York City Mayor Eric Adams announced a plan to establish what he said would be the "biggest student mental health program in the country." All New York City high school students would have access to mental health support through telehealth programs, Adams said.
