Half of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, with one in five children affected by mental illness and often not getting treatment for years. To help children and their families, schools and communities, the Cigna Foundation is sponsoring and co-hosting a forum and webcast today with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). The forum will provide steps that teachers, parents and health care professionals can take to address the growing mental health crisis among youth.

Today’s forum is taking place between 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. EDT. Called “It’s Time to Take Action: Innovative Community Approaches to Children’s Mental Health,” the forum includes advocates and experts from the mental health field discussing conditions, treatment, bullying and addiction. In mid-June, taped videos of the Forum sessions will be posted to the forum webpage.

“It’s time to move the needle from talk to action. Cigna is pleased to shine a light on this urgent topic, as children’s wellness is a priority as part of our company’s corporate responsibility platform,” said Stuart Lustig, M.D., M.P.H., lead medical director for child and adolescent care for Cigna Behavioral Health and associate clinical professor at the University of California San Francisco in the Department of Psychiatry.

“Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among youth, ages 10 to 24,” said NAMI executive director Mary Giliberti, J.D. “Early recognition of symptoms in children and early treatment can save lives and ensures a better future.”

“National dialogue about children’s mental health is important, but dialogue also must lead to action. We hope the forum will help move mental health professionals and policymakers forward,” Giliberti added. The forum will focus on successful, innovative and cost-effective programs that should be examined for replication nationwide to help prevent suffering and tragedy, including:

• Ensuring that schools are equipped with mental health prevention and early intervention tools;
• Early identification, intervention and care for youth with mental health conditions, and how to fill the gap in a shortage of mental health services and providers; and
• Opportunities to talk about mental health, such as the NAMI Ending the Silence program for high school students and OK2Talk.org, a social media community that promotes sharing, dialogue and resources to eliminate the barriers that often stand in the way of children with mental health conditions.

“Talking more openly about mental illness and the tangible actions that benefit children helps to remove the stigma and discrimination that often surrounds these conditions. Today’s forum is a start,” Dr. Lustig said.

This article first appeared on News Medical on 4 June, 2014.