Schools Want More Therapy for Students, Not All Parents Agree

Derry Oliver was in fifth grade when she first talked to her mother about seeing a therapist.

德里·奥利弗（Derry Oliver）第一次与母亲谈论去看治疗师时，她正在读五年级。

They were moving to New York City. Derry had to live with family members in another state while her mother, also named Derry Oliver, found a job and apartment. (In this story, we will call the daughter by her first name, Derry, and her mother by her family name, Oliver.)

他们要搬到纽约市。 德里不得不与另一个州的家人住在一起，而她的母亲（也叫德里·奥利弗）找到了工作和公寓。 （在这个故事中，我们将称呼女儿的名字为德里，称呼她母亲的姓氏为奥利弗。）

It was a difficult year. A school worker suggested therapy. Derry’s mother questioned the advice and disagreed with therapy.

这是艰难的一年。 一名学校工作人员建议进行治疗。 德里的母亲质疑这个建议，并且不同意治疗。

“You’re so young. There’s nothing wrong with you. These are growing pains,” Oliver told her daughter.

“你还这么年轻。 你没有什么问题。 这些都是成长的烦恼，”奥利弗告诉她的女儿。

However, Derry’s depression got worse during the COVID-19 pandemic. She struggled with the loneliness of at-home learning. She reached out to her high school for help.

然而，在 COVID-19 大流行期间，德里的抑郁症变得更加严重。 她与在家学习的孤独感作斗争。 她向高中寻求帮助。

In New York, school-based mental health professionals like social workers can provide some counseling without parental permission. But therapy requires a parent’s agreement.

在纽约，学校的心理健康专业人员（例如社会工作者）可以在未经家长许可的情况下提供一些咨询。 但治疗需要父母的同意。

“It was very emotional for both of us because I understood her frustrations and fears,” Derry remembered. “But at the same time, it’s sometimes best for your child to be able to access this rather than hold it away from them.”

“我们俩都非常激动，因为我理解她的沮丧和恐惧，”德里回忆道。 “但与此同时，有时最好让你的孩子能够接触到它，而不是把它远离他们。”

Using federal money from the pandemic, schools around the U.S. have employed more mental health specialists. They also add telehealth and online counseling to reach as many students as possible.

美国各地的学校利用疫情期间的联邦资金聘请了更多的心理健康专家。 他们还增加了远程医疗和在线咨询，以覆盖尽可能多的学生。

As treatments have become more readily available and more young people talk openly about mental health issues, schools are now facing difficulties in getting parents to agree to treatment.

随着治疗变得更加容易获得，并且越来越多的年轻人公开谈论心理健康问题，学校现在在让家长同意治疗方面面临着困难。

Chelsea Trout is studying social work at New York University and is doing her training at a school in Brooklyn. She called it a “disconnect” between parents and children.

切尔西·特劳特正在纽约大学学习社会工作，并在布鲁克林的一所学校接受培训。 她称之为父母与孩子之间的“脱节”。

“The kids are all on TikTok or the internet and understand therapy-speak and that this is something that could be helpful for their mental health and are interested in…,” said Trout. But she added that they may not have support from their parents.

“孩子们都在使用 TikTok 或互联网，了解治疗语言，这可能对他们的心理健康有帮助，并且对……感兴趣，”特劳特说。 但她补充说，他们可能得不到父母的支持。

Politics can also play a part. Some states are looking to make getting therapy without parental permission easier while others are proposing more restrictions.

政治也可以发挥作用。 一些州希望在未经父母许可的情况下更容易获得治疗，而另一些州则提出更多限制。

The states of California and Colorado have recently lowered the age of consent for treatment to 12. But in some states like North Carolina, the issue is part of larger political debates on the input parents can have on school teachings as well as the rights of transgender students.

加利福尼亚州和科罗拉多州最近将同意接受治疗的年龄降低至 12 岁。但在北卡罗来纳州等一些州，这个问题是更大的政治辩论的一部分，辩论的主题是家长可以对学校教学以及跨性别者的权利提供意见 学生。

Cost is another issue. Therapy is rarely free. And paying for it often requires parental support.

成本是另一个问题。 治疗很少是免费的。 而支付这些费用通常需要父母的支持。

Research suggests that the need for parental permission can keep young people from getting treatment.

研究表明，需要父母许可可能会阻碍年轻人接受治疗。

Jessica Chock-Goldman is a social worker at Bard Early College High School in New York City. She said that she has seen many cases where mental health issues turn severe partly because young people did not get earlier access to therapy.

杰西卡·乔克-戈德曼是纽约市巴德早期学院高中的一名社会工作者。 她说，她见过许多心理健康问题变得严重的案例，部分原因是年轻人没有尽早获得治疗。

For Derry and her mother, years of talking have led to some progress. Several years ago, her mother agreed to a compromise.

对于德里和她的母亲来说，多年的交谈带来了一些进展。 几年前，她的母亲同意妥协。

They found a Black female therapist, which was important to both of them as a Black family. Oliver agreed that her daughter could start therapy — as long as she could sit in on the meetings.

他们找到了一位黑人女性治疗师，这对他们作为黑人家庭都很重要。 奥利弗同意她的女儿可以开始治疗——只要她能参加会议。

“It has to be someone trustworthy,” Oliver said of a possible therapist for her daughter. But the therapist changed jobs after a month and Derry has not seen another therapist since.

“必须是值得信赖的人，”奥利弗谈到她女儿可能的治疗师时说道。 但一个月后治疗师换了工作，自那以后德里就没有再见过另一位治疗师。

Trout, the school social worker in training, said she has met many parents who, like Oliver, have trust issues.

正在接受培训的学校社会工作者特劳特表示，她遇到过很多像奥利弗一样存在信任问题的家长。

“If we’re thinking about predominantly Black and brown communities, if your interactions with social workers or mental health services or anything in that realm thus far have not been positive,” Trout said, “how could you trust them with your kids?”

特劳特说：“如果我们考虑的是主要是黑人和棕色人种的社区，如果你与社会工作者或心理健康服务机构或该领域的任何事情的互动到目前为止都不是积极的，你怎么能相信他们会照顾你的孩子呢？”

Statistics also show a racial divide.

统计数据还显示出种族差异。

In 2021, 14 percent of white children reported seeing a therapist at some point during that year. This number is compared to 9 percent of Black children, 8 percent of Hispanic children, and 3 percent of Asian American children. These numbers come from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

2021 年，14% 的白人儿童表示曾在当年的某个时候看过治疗师。 相比之下，黑人儿童的比例为 9%，西班牙裔儿童的比例为 8%，亚裔美国儿童的比例为 3%。 这些数字来自疾病控制和预防中心。

Without access to therapy, Derry has sought advice about dealing with her emotions through friends, school social workers, and the Internet. But she feels that she could gain more with professional help.

由于无法接受治疗，德里通过朋友、学校社会工作者和互联网寻求有关处理情绪的建议。 但她认为，在专业人士的帮助下，她可以获得更多。

Derry has already gotten into several colleges. One thing she is considering is what the school offers for therapy.

德里已经进入了几所大学。 她正在考虑的一件事是学校提供什么治疗服务。