Mental Health Treatment

In 2009, 2.9 million, or 12.0 percent of adolescents aged 12 to 17 received past-year treatment or counseling for problems with emotions or behavior (not including problems caused by drug or alcohol use) in a specialty mental health setting, including both inpatient¹ and outpatient² care. A similar proportion of adolescents received mental health services in an educational setting³ (12.1 percent) while 2.5 percent received services from a pediatrician or other family doctor in a medical setting, and less than 1 percent received mental health services in a juvenile justice setting. About 5 percent of adolescents received mental health services in both a specialty mental health setting and either an educational or a medical setting.

A greater proportion of females received specialty mental health services (14.0 percent) than males (10.1 percent). Few racial and ethnic differences in service site for past-year treatment were observed with two notable exceptions: Asians were less likely to receive services in a specialty mental health setting compared to non-Hispanic White and Black children (6.6 percent versus 12.8 and 12.2 percent, respectively) and non-Hispanic Black children were more likely to receive services in an educational setting (16.4 percent) than children of other racial/ethnic groups.

The most commonly reported reason for service use was feeling depressed. This was true for nearly half of adolescents who received services in either a specialty mental health or medical setting, and over one-third of those who received services in an educational setting. Overall, reasons for treatment or counseling varied by service site. For example, problems with home/ family was reported as the reason for seeking services by 27.8 percent of those seeking care in a specialty mental health setting compared to 17.8 and 11.9 percent of those treated in educational and medical settings, respectively.

1 Includes treatment/counseling from an overnight or longer stay in a hospital, residential treatment center, or foster care or therapeutic foster care home.
2 Includes treatment/counseling from a private therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist, social worker, or counselor; mental health clinic or center; partial day hospital or day treatment program; or in-home therapist, counselor, or family preservation worker.
3 Includes treatment/counseling from a school social worker, school psychologist, or school counselor.

This image is described in the Data section.

This image is described in the Data section.