Experts gathered at an American Community Media panel warned of the alarming inequality in access to mental health services among racialized communities in the U.S., amid a growing crisis that especially affects children and young people.

Alarming increase: depression, anxiety, and loneliness

“Mental health in children and young people is the crisis of our time,” warned former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. And the numbers back him up: over 22% of Gen Z young adults experienced a major depressive episode in 2023, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Four out of ten children report persistent feelings of sadness.

Dr. Ovsanna Leyfer, a researcher at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders at Boston University, noted that this crisis has been growing for over a decade but worsened significantly after the pandemic. “Between 2009 and 2019, the number of high school students reporting persistent sadness rose by 40%. The emergency was officially declared in 2021,” she stated.

Multiple, interrelated factors feed this situation: prolonged screen time, constant social media comparison, post-pandemic isolation, academic and parental pressure, and the economic and social stress many families face. “Many kids no longer play or enjoy life. They’re just trying to survive each day,” Leyfer warned.

Effective therapies, unequal access

Despite the bleak outlook, there are concrete alternatives. “We have effective treatments, like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which has shown positive results in 60% to 80% of anxiety cases,” Leyfer explained. This therapy, which helps replace negative thoughts with more functional ones, also promotes behaviors tied to a sense of achievement—particularly in youth experiencing depression.

However, the effectiveness of these treatments runs into serious structural barriers. Dr. Kiara Álvarez, a professor at Johns Hopkins University, emphasized the stark inequality in access to mental health care. “Indigenous, Latino, and African American communities face disproportionate obstacles. These are historical disparities that the health system still hasn’t addressed,” she said.

Álvarez also highlighted how emotional impacts are compounded by events like immigration raids. “Even when the separation of parents and children only happens in the news, it leaves deep marks on kids,” she warned.

Cultural burden and invisible trauma

For therapist Soo Jin Lee, director of the Yellow Chair Collective, it’s essential to approach mental health with cultural competence. “Many Asian American youth feel they don’t have the right to be sad because their parents sacrificed everything. They carry guilt that makes their own pain invisible,” she explained.

Lee works with teenagers facing intergenerational trauma—war, displacement, colonization, systemic oppression—and parenting styles that, while protective, rarely express affection verbally. “Many kids just want their parents to say ‘I love you.’ And they never hear it,” she said.

Culturally appropriate access to mental health care is also a major obstacle. Only 3% of psychologists in the U.S. identify as Asian. “That lack of representation complicates treatment and often keeps youth from seeking help, because they don’t feel understood,” Lee added.

The power of listening and support

Victoria Birch, a volunteer counselor and member of the California Office of Youth and Community Restoration, shared her personal story. Marked by years of depression, anxiety, and self-harm, she went in and out of prison from age 16 to 22. “My mom couldn’t raise four kids on her own. I just wanted to feel like I belonged somewhere,” she said during the event.

Her path to healing began with Beloved Village, an organization that supports formerly incarcerated youth. “I didn’t want to talk. But they taught me that talking can save you. Today I have a healthy relationship with my mother and my siblings,” she shared.

Birch emphasized the importance of safe spaces and genuine support: “If they hadn’t listened to me, I probably wouldn’t be alive.”

An urgent and collective response

The mental health crisis affecting children and youth cannot be solved through isolated solutions. As the panelists agreed, it requires systemic and comprehensive intervention: school-based prevention, equitable access to quality treatments, culturally aware approaches, public policies that address inequality, and a collective effort to eliminate stigma.

“The goal is to reduce risk factors,” concluded Kiara Álvarez. “But to do that, we must first acknowledge that these problems are not evenly distributed. Some youth carry much heavier burdens than others.”

At the same time, it’s critical to understand that this crisis isn’t just the result of improved detection or higher diagnostic rates. The current conditions—economic, digital, familial, and social—are having a real, profound impact on the emotional well-being of millions of young people.