Alaskans ages 16 and 17 would be able to consent to talk therapy under a bill introduced in the state Senate in February that would lower the age of consent from 18.
A parent or guardian would still need to consent to any medications.
Anchorage Republican Sen. Cathy Giessel, an advanced practice registered nurse, sponsored Senate Bill 90. She screens Anchorage children and teens for mental health issues and said only a third of parents typically consent when their kid requests therapy.
“I believe that students have a real understanding of their need for assistance, their need for counseling, their desire to talk to someone about the struggles they're having,” Giessel said.
Typically, she said, major mental health challenges start around age 14, and when kids are struggling, they sometimes turn to harmful coping strategies like using nicotine, alcohol or drugs.
“By helping them early, we can head off more advanced issues later in their teen years, or even adult years,” Giessel said.
Most states allow minors to consent to mental health care. Several allow kids to consent at age 14, and two states at age 12.
Critics of the bill worry that therapists working with younger children will encourage them to identify as transgender, without parental knowledge. But peer-reviewed research has shown that kids do not identify as transgender because of so-called “social contagion.”
Meanwhile, experts say the United States is in the midst of a youth mental health crisis. Giessel said she sees that in her work, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Prior to COVID, I rarely had a student share significant anxiety, depression or even suicidal ideation,” she said. “During and after COVID, it has increased significantly more, and I think it's a reflection, really, of what's going on in our society. But I also think that parents are becoming less and less engaged with their kids.”
Parents and guardians are still the best people to talk to their kids about mental health struggles, and the bill is designed to include them, Giessel said. As written in the bill, therapists would be required to notify parents and guardians of the therapy after five sessions, unless the therapist and youth decide it’s unsafe or will threaten their care.
The bill is expected to head to the Senate Health and Social Services Committee within the next two weeks, where there will be an opportunity for public comment, Giessel said.
