Media learns about youth mental health issues at UO forum

Journalists heard from education and psychology researchers and got an update on Ballmer Institute programs 

By Mark Furman
April 16, 2025

University of Oregon researchers shared insights into youth mental and behavioral health issues during a recent forum for journalists, who also heard how a new service delivery model developed at the UO will support the state’s children.

The university now offers an undergraduate degree program intended to create a workforce of child behavioral health specialists. The training offered by the Ballmer Institute for Children’s Behavioral Health at UO Portland aims to expand the workforce supporting students during the critical school-age and adolescent years.


“These providers are not meant to replace existing mental health services but rather to be part of a continuum of care,” said Ariel Williamson, an assistant professor at the Ballmer Institute. “They’re going to be able to identify — not diagnose, but identify — youth who could benefit from early intervention and they will teach skills that we know are helpful for all youth, like emotion regulation, coping, problem-solving, relaxation, and promoting healthy sleep.”

Gaps in mental health services



Getting services to youth between age 12 and 25 presents both opportunities and challenges.

"We know that this is the period of life where the vast majority of people who are going to have seriously disabling mental health difficulty throughout their life, they will have these problems emerge during this phase of life," said Nick Allen, the Ann Swindells Professor in Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences.

“The problem is that the mental health system is, in fact, weakest at that stage of life where it’s more important,” he said.

Allen said services are available for children and some youth, and another set of services for adults. The dividing line is typically age 18.

“That's really a terrible place to put a break in the service system and make people move to a different system, because we know that there is that risk period that extends into the mid-20s and maybe even later,” Allen said.

The new degree offered at the Ballmer Institute is one of the ways the UO is working to meet the needs of youth. Williamson also noted efforts in the state Legislature to expand access to psychological care via telehealth.

Williamson said 42 states “participate in something called PSYPACT, which is an inter-jurisdictional compact that facilitates telehealth access to psychology services. Oregon is not one of them.”



Williamson said House Bill 3339, sponsored by Republican Rep. Ed Diehl of Salem, would allow patients access to care remotely across state lines.



Special education programs could help address mental health

Researchers at the UO focus on the needs of vulnerable populations of students, including youth from minority groups and those diagnosed with autism.



Geovanna Rodriguez, an assistant professor of school psychology in the College of Education, said 7.5 million students in the U.S. receive special education services, more than 15 percent of the public school population. Those students receive and are entitled to additional related services through Individualized Education Plans.

“But oftentimes these services don’t include mental health support,” Rodriguez said. “That’s pretty alarming given that a lot of students with disabilities are three to four times more likely to need these services and have a diagnosable mental health condition by the time they reach adolescence.”



The research suggests that including and centering disability in the conversation results in better outcomes for students.

“When we have disability-inclusive models in schools,” Rodriguez said, “it has a tremendous impact on their outcomes, especially for this population of students that often is at the margins of mental health support.”



What about technology?



Jen Doty, an associate professor of prevention science, said a review of studies on youth and technology doesn’t show a connection to mental health.



“We don't see an association between general screen time and mental health in adolescents,” Doty said. “But there are subgroups that are at risk.”

Doty cited a study that found youth more vulnerable during periods of transition, including girls age 11 to 13; boys age 14 to 15; and all youth transitioning out of high school.

“There’s also dependence on the types of behaviors kids are doing,” Doty said. “If kids are going online and they're being creative and they're connecting with their friends and they're getting support when they're having a hard time, it's generally a good thing.

“But you do have subgroups of kids who, if they experience cyberbullying or they're cyberbullying others, if they are doing social comparisons or if they're experiencing discrimination online, those subgroups of kids who are experiencing those things online do have pretty strong and consistent associations with mental health problems.”



Doty works to identify and carry out strategies to help youth avoid potential perils while using technology.

“And I also talk a lot with parents about what's developmentally appropriate,” Doty said. “You're not going to let your 8-year-old typically go into Grand Central Station and navigate Grand Central Station alone. But your 16-year-old, especially if they have some experience with that, are going to be just fine. So, I think that hard and fast rules across everyone probably don't work.”