Too many young Alaskans are suffering in silence.
Suicide remains the leading cause of death for Alaskans aged 15 to 24. Teen suicide is often described as shocking and unpredictable. Many teenagers do not know how to reach out for help or access care.
House Bill 232, HB 232 can change that by allowing teenagers aged 16-17 to access immediate care, get the help they need during a critical period. HB 232 would also allow teenagers to receive limited services in the field of mental health counseling without requiring parental consent.
Parents are an important part of the adolescent support system and benefit from involvement in care. HB 232 is not about excluding parents. It’s about getting treatment as quickly as possible to teenagers who don’t know how to tell their parents that they’re struggling or feeling suicidal, or can’t realistically involve them. In a young mind, no Telling the parents can be reasons such as not wanting to add more to the stressed parent’s plate, not wanting to let the parents down, or not being able to safely or realistically involve the parents.
Currently, minors need parental consent to receive mental health care. This can be a barrier for youth who are abused and neglected, who are in family conflict or who are unwilling to tell their parents that they are seeking mental health care. Some teens fear punishment or rejection from their parents, and others do not have a stable parental figure. Some do not want to freak out their parents and disappoint them. What goes through a teenager’s mind may be very different from an adult’s, but they are old enough to find ways to harm themselves. This is a difficult age, and when struggling with mental health challenges or suicidal ideation, it can lead to injury or death. In a situation like the one above, one has no choice but to either get help from parents or not get help at all.
HB 232 attempts to fill the poverty gap alone by taking a middle-of-the-road approach. This allows for short-term counseling, no more than five sessions, when the care provider believes that contacting the parent would endanger the minor’s health. In addition, it states that psychiatric medication should not be prescribed without parental consent and that families should be involved in counseling when possible. This is a reasonable policy, not a radical one. Early intervention saves lives.
HB 232 addresses a specific problem and prevents it: that some teenagers cannot access the care they need – not want, but need. Every young person deserves to be talked to professionally, to be heard without fear and to start healing. HB 232 gives young people that opportunity. At-risk teens simply tell other teens about mental health challenges or suicidal thoughts that aren’t worth it. They talk to their friends, but at that age, other teenagers are not equipped or trusted to give good advice to lead their peers on the best path.
HB 232 is not about taking something away from the mother. Rather, it enables the removal of barriers that prevent young people from seeking help safely, quickly and easily. This allows professionals to help teenagers aged 16-17 who do not have qualified adults in their lives. If you are a supportive parent whose teen doesn’t need this, think of the children who don’t have that person in their lives. Where would your child be without your support? Shouldn’t every child get the same support? HB 232 allows them to get it.
Beau Lawson is an Anchorage resident and University of Alaska Fairbanks student.
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