Akron (Ohio) Children's Hospital opened an outpatient behavioral health center on July 18 offering therapy and coping skill education to patients ages 12 to 18, cleveland.com reported July 17.
Akron Children's Behavioral Health Canton's goal is to offer individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis additional resources — such as therapy programs and early screening — before the need for hospitalization.
The Northeast Ohio region has been experiencing a shortage of mental health beds since the COVID-19 pandemic. While the $7.5 million center does not have inpatient beds, it offers outpatient programs that aim to be the destination for crises that previously have taken up mental health beds in emergency rooms.
Patients can choose to participate in a program that runs all day for up to 10 days or an after-school program for three days a week. The programs offer cognitive behavioral therapy to stabilize patients' moods and teach healthy coping skills for conditions including anxiety, depression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.