New: Surgeon General's Advisory on Protecting Youth Mental Health
This week, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy issued a new Surgeon General’s Advisory to highlight the urgent need to address the nation’s youth mental health crisis.

The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on Protecting Youth Mental Health outlines the pandemic’s unprecedented impacts on the mental health of America’s youth and families, as well as the mental health challenges that existed long before the pandemic, and it calls for a swift and coordinated response to this crisis.
The Advisory follows a declaration of a "national emergency in children's mental health" by the American Academy of Pediatrics, an NTTAC organization; American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; and the Children's Hospital Association. Read the declaration from AAP and its partners.
"The future wellbeing of our country depends on how we support and invest in the next generation. Especially in this moment, as we work to protect the health of Americans in the face of a new variant, we also need to focus on how we can emerge stronger on the other side. This advisory shows us how we can all work together to step up for our children during this dual crisis.” - Dr. Vivek Murthy
Surgeon General's Recommendations for the Nation

The new Advisory describes the biological and environmental factors that contribute to youth mental health; risk factors and young people who are put at higher risk during the pandemic; and recommendations for high-level, "whole-of-society" actions such as:

  • Recognize that mental health is an essential part of overall health.  

  • Empower youth and their families to recognize, manage, and learn from difficult emotions.  

  • Ensure that every child has access to high-quality, affordable, and culturally competent mental health care. 

  • Support the mental health of children and youth in educational, community, and childcare settings. And expand and support the early childhood and education workforce.  

  • Address the economic and social barriers that contribute to poor mental health for young people, families, and caregivers.

  • Increase timely data collection and research to identify and respond to youth mental health needs more rapidly. This includes more research on the relationship between technology and youth mental health, and technology companies should be more transparent with data and algorithmic processes to enable this research.
Surgeon General's Recommendations for Stakeholder Groups

The Advisory explores what...







...and what even more stakeholder groups can do to support youth mental health.
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This announcement is supported by SAMHSA of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award over five years (2020-2025) with 100 percent funded by SAMHSA/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by SAMHSA/HHS, or the U.S. Government.