A new report by the Mental Health America of Greater Dallas shows a growing community concern about depression rates among residents in Dallas-Fort Worth.
The State of Depression in Dallas: 2023 Report from Mental Health America of Greater Dallas, released on Aug. 1, takes a critical insight into the rates, demographics, and social factors related to depression in the Metroplex.
Particularly alarming is the state of youth mental health in Dallas, according to the report.
Although Texas ranked 12th for youth with substance use disorder and 20th for the percentage of youth with severe depression, the state ranked 50th for workforce availability in mental health care for youth.
Stephanie McGary, a licensed professional counselor-supervisor and registered play therapist, said there are significant barriers for youth and their families to access mental health care across Dallas-Fort Worth.
"A few of the major barriers are cost, access ... still, there is a stigma around mental health," McGary said.
McGary has served as the director of clinical programming with Communities in Schools of the Dallas region since 2022.
"[In 2018] I was working directly in schools and working with teachers and the struggle that we saw there, that I know I saw there, at that time was typically around a lot of students who were experiencing just adverse childhood experiences," McGary said.
Focus on youth mental health equity
McGary said the COVID-19 pandemic and virtual learning exacerbated behavior and other issues in young people. It was also more difficult for mental health professionals and educators to reach these vulnerable students.
“Teachers [had] to be innovative around how to support the social and emotional, mental health of students that are not in my reach that [they couldn’t] really touch. So they would get really creative about pulling them out into Zoom breakout rooms to check in on them," McGary said.
"But it was still the same stuff that I was experiencing before COVID, but it just made it worse for a lot of our students,” she said.
The report underscores the need for strengthening services for youth and young adults, McGary said.
She also calls for equitable and quality mental health services in underserved Dallas neighborhoods.
"There's kind of this theme around just because people are from a certain zip code that you could just kind of throw any type of therapy at them. But they deserve quality mental health care as well," McGary said.
Seasonal effects on depression
The report shows the Dallas area witnessed a sharp increase in depression rates, peaking in November 2020.
The decline after could be attributed to various factors, including updated COVID-19 mandates, or improved awareness and access to mental health services during the pandemic.
Although the rates have since declined, periodic fluctuations were observed, hinting at possible seasonal effects or cyclical influences.
A significant part of the report focuses on economic and racial disparities, as depression rates were notably higher in communities with households that sit below the Dallas-Fort Worth median income of $63,079. About 55% of these ZIP codes had a majority of depression screeners who were white.
The top 20 ZIP codes with the highest rates of mild to severe depression were located outside of Dallas, in surrounding suburban areas. These findings align with Texas’s rank as 46th overall in the country for mental health, according to the 2023 State of Mental Health in America Report.
In anOctober 2022 statementfrom Mental Health America of Greater Dallas, Texas ranks 50th for uninsured adults with mental health conditions and 50th for workforce availability.
The report’s recommendations include providing sustainable funding for crisis services, dedicating funding for school-based mental health services, and mental health workforce development and training for improved access to care.
Something that McGray said her organization and others are working to get right in the Metroplex.
"Having programs, one like Communities In Schools where you have the academic component, but you're also supplying and making sure that you're bringing in that mental health component to work alongside," McGray said.
For more information on Mental Health America of Greater Dallas, visit their website at www.mhadallas.org.
Got a tip? Email Brittany Stubblefield-Engram at bstubblefield-engram@kera.org. You can follow Brittany on Twitter @thebritofdallas.
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