(upbeat music) - We're now joined by Dr. Eric Alcera, who is Vice President, Chief Medical Officer at Hackensack Meridian Health Carrier Clinic, and also a child psychologist by background.

Dr. Alcera, good to see you, my friend.

- You too, Steve.

Happy to be here.

- You got, let me say that.

I say my friend, also my former student.

Let me disclose that.

I've been teaching in the HMH Hackensack Meridian Health Physician Leadership Academy for several years, and you were one of our better students, four years in.

- Four years in, that's, I really appreciate the compliment.

- Well, I'm not gonna ask what you learned from it.

That's another story.

Hey, Eric, do this.

Help us understand what the crisis we are facing in 2024 and beyond as it relates to youth mental health.

How bad is it and are we addressing it in remotely the way we need to?

- Yeah, it's the, you know, the teen mental health crisis is certainly something that is on everyone's top of mind.

You know, the American Psych Association, the American Pediatric Association, all of them have declared a teen mental health crisis, probably most in part due to the after effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

You know, we're seeing kids that are suffering more with, you know, symptoms of depression, anxiety, the suicide rates in teen and adolescent girls continues to rise.

And, you know, this is problematic for our society.

- You and I were having a conversation offline recently about this major grant, $10 million grant, that has gone to Hackensack Meridian Health, an underwriter of our programming, dealing directly with this issue from Steven and Alexandra Cohen funded, the Cohens who own the Mets?

- Yes.

Go Mets.

- I'm a Yankee fan, but in this case it's go Mets.

We agree.

What is the $10 million for and what impact will it have, Dr. Alcera?

- Yeah, you know, the Cohen Foundation, Steve and Alexandra were so kind to provide that money for us.

They, you know, we met with them and they really understood the need and the crisis that existed and they wanted to do their part.

You know, the money that they're giving us is gonna go directly into our Child and Adolescent Expansion at the Carrier Clinic.

You know, that's a $35.9 million project that is going to make a huge impact for the kids in the state of New Jersey.

Currently at Carrier Clinic, we have 36 beds.

The money that we're getting is gonna allow us to go to 52 beds, which is gonna be critical to provide support for kids in crisis.

It also is gonna allow us to add an additional eight beds for latency in kids.

So, kids between the ages of seven to 11, which people don't often think about, but they struggle as well.

And the number of beds in the state of New Jersey is not enough to say the least.

And to have the ability to expand that is gonna be very important to provide the services for those who really suffering with severe cases.

- But Eric, you're talking about beds, important, but many people, and I've also talked to you about this, so many friends of mine who are looking for help for their children are saying that there aren't enough psychiatrists, there are not enough mental health professionals.

And that it's, oh yeah, you could have an appointment for three months.

No, it's not three months, we're in crisis right now.

Talk about not beyond the beds, the people, the professionals, please.

- Yeah, I mean, it's not only immune to HMH, there's a national shortage in child psychiatrists and clinicians in general.

I think that's something that's affecting the nation as a whole.

But with HMH, we're trying to do our part.

We recognize that we really have to meet kids where they're at.

You know, we have one of the biggest state initiatives called the Pediatric Psych Collaborative that helps with pediatricians address kids when they're meeting with their primary care providers and provide those mental health services.

And that's a statewide service that has just been absolutely phenomenal.

We have other services, too, that we're trying to improve access points with our child fellowship and behavioral health and urgent care.

HMH is trying to do their part to address, you know, some of the needs and decrease some of those waiting times that you mentioned.

- Dr. Alcera, what advice do you have, and I know it's case by case, but what advice do you have for parents watching right now who are really struggling because their kids are struggling?

I don't even know what post-pandemic means, and I don't know what impact COVID has had.

I want to talk about that as well.

What about for a parent watching right now who's lost?

They don't know where to turn.

Talk to them.

- It's, you know, you're not alone.

I mean, I think that's the biggest message is that sometimes when you're struggling and you're questioning whether or not you're doing the right thing for your kids.

Sometimes you need to reach out to people and get that validation or support that is absolutely necessary.

And sometimes you can find that in your local community.

But, you know, in our network, we have trained professionals 24/7 that can support you, service you, connect you, and give you access to those necessary services.

You know, parents struggle.

It's hard raising kids.

Let's just sort of say that from the start, but you're not alone when it comes to, you know, the services that you need to help, especially when you're trying to help your kid get through a mental health crisis.

- Eric, what are they looking for?

I know this is so ridiculous because it's so individual to each kid.

We have three children.

I have a son from a, older son from a previous marriage, and they're all different.

And so, the thing, like, what should we be looking for?

Such a ridiculously generic question because our kids are so different, but are there certain signs, are there certain indicators that should raise our antenna to say, "Hey, we need to deal with this and not just hope it gets better," please.

- Yeah, it, you know, with mental health, I always tell parents they know their kids better than we do.

So understanding, you know, how they're functioning.

What we typically use the term baseline.

What's their social life like?

What's their academic life like?

What's their interactions with the family like?

When those things change, when kids become more withdrawn, less social, not eating, and even start, you know, falling academically, those are signs that mental health might be creeping in.

And especially if they start talking about things like suicide or self-harming, those are absolute signs that you need to reach out to a crisis counselor and get help.

- COVID's impact?

Do we have any idea, even though it's 2024, do we have any idea or in four plus years in?

- I mean, it's not good.

I think, you know, the traumas that were felt, the association with loss, you know, I can't, I've spoken to many people.

There's very few people that have not been touched by someone that was lost or injured or, you know, impacted by the COVID pandemic, and that resonates in kids.

You know, when that happens, it's hard to sort of get your arms around when it happens on such a large scale.

And I think, you know, what we know about trauma is that it's everlasting.

You know, it changes you, it affects you.

And sometimes when you're not the best at expressing yourself or managing some of your feelings and stress, that can be problematic.

And we want make sure that kids, we recognize this in kids and support them as they work through that.

- Eric, before I let you go, any real progress on the stigma attached to mental health?

I mean, please tell me we're better than we were.

- I think we are.

You know, if you look at sort of Hollywood and the media, mental health is becoming much more in mainstream media and easier to talk about.

The more high figures speak about mental health, the more important it becomes.

I think, you know, we have ambassadors with HMH that speak about it, and the more they do it, the better off people are and the less likely that they feel averse in not talking about it.

- And lemme just share this, as Eric knows, in my, and I'm not promoting my recent book, "Lessons in Leadership 2.0: The Tough Stuff."

I'll just say this, there's a chapter in it where I talk about wellness and I share my own challenges in that regard because, I'm not a celebrity per se, but the less we talk openly about those challenges, the more the stigma remains.

Dr. Eric Alcera, Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, Hackensack Meridian Health, again, an underwriter of ours, Carrier Clinic.

Good to see you, Eric, talk soon.

- You too, Steve, thank you.

- You got it.

Stay with us, we'll be right back.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

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