(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Student Mental Health Difficulties on the Rise
Claire Brennan Tillberg's 11-year-old daughter has been hospitalized twice in recent months after sharing that she was having suicidal thoughts. The Massachusetts girl has autism, depression and anxiety.
Although her daughter had been hospitalized before, Tillberg said things worsened when the pandemic hit. Her school went online and she could no longer meet with counselors in person. Suddenly, the structure and support that help many children keep a sense of normalcy were gone.
Studies have shown that depression increases during teen years. One out of every 13 high school students has attempted suicide and at least half of children with mental illness do not get treatment.
When schools closed across the U.S. in mid-March of 2020, it separated students from other students, along with advisors, teachers and other adults at school. Additionally, for many students, school was the only place to get mental health services.
Wenimo Okoya is a health education researcher and program director. She is head of high school implementation for the Jed Foundation. The organization helps schools nationally develop programs to support mental health and prevent suicide.
Okoya says research has not yet linked teen suicides to the school closures. But she says social connections are hugely important for students.
"One of the things that we know promotes mental health and ameliorates suicide risk is social connectedness for young people. And we're finding that, because of the isolation that COVID-19 has put us all in, it's harder for students to connect with their peers, with their teachers."
For more than 10 years, suicide rates among students aged 10 and up in the U.S. have been on the rise. But experts say the pandemic has brought new worries to young people's lives along with social isolation.
From mid-March through October 2020, mental health-related visits to hospital emergency rooms rose for U.S. children ages 5-11 and 12-17. That information comes from a recent report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Nisha Sachdev is with the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools at George Washington University. She says that during the pandemic, both nationally and worldwide, children and families have been experiencing anxiety and fear for many reasons. They include loss of income and loss of housing or having to move around. The children can also experience long periods of separation from or loss of family members with COVID-19.
Research and opinion studies in the U.S., Asia, Australia, Canada, China and Europe have shown overall worsening mental health in children and teens since the pandemic began. In an October report by the World Health Organization involving 130 countries, more than 60 percent reported changes to mental health services for vulnerable people, including children and teens.
In the U.S., school closures have led to a loss of mental health services for many students.
Okoya notes that students are also experiencing things like internet connection issues. Others may share one computer with their brothers and sisters. Or they may live in a small space with their family and cannot speak privately about their feelings.
So how have schools reacted to the changes? And what can they do moving forward?
For students with special needs, telehealth has made a big difference, says Okoya. Telehealth is the process by which some healthcare services are provided through the internet.
But for the main school population, mental health experts agree about the need for schools to provide structure and routines for students. They also say building a sense of connection and belonging between students and with supportive adults is critical.
That includes teachers or other adults at school having daily check-ins with students. Okoya says this is important – even if the child's camera is off or if the student does not share their specific problems.
"Opening up the line of communication is really important – even if it's not about the bigger thing. That young person knowing that there's an adult who cares about them, who is reaching out to them, who's making the time to talk to them is really, really important."
How check-ins and other emotional supports are carried out differ from school to school.
Okoya says the Jed Foundation works with some schools that have put in place "breakout rooms." This involves breaking classes into smaller online "rooms" so that students can share more openly.
Sachdev says some schools she works with in Washington, D.C. have done a great job with check-ins. They have chosen a teacher or other school employee to work with students and families. So each student has a point person they check in with every day and they do not have to search for someone they can talk to. The system also helps parents or guardians. They no longer have to check in with several different teachers.
Other teachers use a mood meter, a kind of map that divides feelings into colors, during advisory periods each day. And, since students have several class periods per day, their other teachers can do the same if they are able to, Okoya says.
Overall, the pandemic has proven that social-emotional learning is just as important as learning other subjects, says Sachdev.
Experts like Okoya and Sachdev want the public to understand that mental healthcare is more than just the relationship between a student and a counselor.
Every adult who has contact with a young person may be able to take steps to improve their mental health, Okoya says. Even a bus driver, for example, can urge a student to ask for help.
Sachdev explains that schools must not be the only ones ensuring good mental health for students and families. Support, solutions, and services are also needed from other fields, including healthcare, the workforce, child welfare, justice, and others, she says.
I'm Alice Bryant.
重点解析
重点讲解：
1. no longer 已不；再也；
Her parents no longer have any real influence over her.
她的父母对她不再有任何真正的影响力了。
2. along with 与……一起；伴随；
The problem of pollution arises along with the rapid development of industry.
随着工业的迅速发展，产生了污染问题。
3. move forward 向前发展；向前移动；
Clarity of thoughts can help you move forward.
思想清晰可以帮助你进步。
4. ask for 请求；要求；
He was so busy that he had to ask for help.
他太忙了，不得不请求帮助。
参考译文
学生心理健康问题呈上升趋势
克莱尔·布伦南·蒂尔伯格11岁的女儿最近几个月两次住院治疗，因为她说自己有自杀的想法。这位马萨诸塞州的女孩患有自闭症、抑郁症和焦虑症。
蒂尔伯格说，尽管女儿以前住过院，但当疫情袭来时，情况恶化了。她的学校转为在线授课，她再也不能亲自与心理咨询师见面了。突然间，帮助许多孩子保持正常状态的结构和支持消失了。
研究表明，青少年时期抑郁症会增加。每13名高中生中就有一人企图自杀，至少有一半的精神病儿童得不到治疗。
2020年3月中旬，美国各地的学校关闭后，学生与其他学生以及学校的顾问、教师和其他成年人隔离开来。此外，对许多学生来说，学校是获得心理健康服务的唯一场所。
维尼莫·奥卡雅是一位健康教育研究员兼项目主管，她是杰德基金会高中执行主任。该组织帮助学校在全国范围内制定支持心理健康和防止自杀的计划。
奥卡雅说，研究还没有将青少年自杀与学校关闭联系起来。但是，她说社会关系对学生来说非常重要。
“我们所知道的促进心理健康和降低自杀风险的因素之一，是年轻人的社会联系。我们发现，由于新冠病毒把我们都隔离开了，学生们更难与同龄人、老师建立联系。”
10多年来，美国10岁及以上学生的自杀率一直在上升。但专家说，这次疫情给年轻人的生活带来了新的担忧，同时也产生了社会孤立。
从2020年3月中旬到10月，5-11岁和12-17岁的美国儿童到医院急诊室就心理健康问题就诊的人数有所上升。这些信息来自美国疾病控制和预防中心最近的一份报告。
尼沙·萨赫德夫是乔治华盛顿大学学校卫生保健中心的成员，她说，在疫情期间，无论是在国内还是在世界范围内，儿童和家庭都因为许多原因而感到焦虑和恐惧，其中包括失去收入和住房或不得不四处走动，孩子们也会因新冠病毒而与家人长时间分隔或丧失亲人。
美国、亚洲、澳大利亚、加拿大、中国和欧洲的研究及民意调查表明，自疫情开始以来，儿童和青少年的心理健康状况总体在恶化。在世界卫生组织10月份的一份涉及130个国家的报告中，超过60%的人报告说，为包括儿童和青少年在内的弱势群体提供的心理健康服务有所改变。
在美国，学校关闭导致许多学生失去了心理健康服务。
奥卡雅指出，学生们也遇到了诸如互联网连接之类的问题。其他人可能和兄弟姐妹共用一台电脑，或者他们可能和家人住在狭小的空间里，不能私下谈论自己的感受。
那么，学校对这些变化有何反应呢？他们能做些什么？
奥卡雅说，对于有特殊需要的学生来说，远程医疗已经发挥了很大的作用。远程医疗是通过互联网提供一些医疗服务。
但对于主要的学校群体，心理健康专家同意学校需要为学生提供结构和各种常规服务。他们还表示，在学生之间和支持他们的成年人之间建立联系及归属感至关重要。
这包括教师或学校里的其他成年人每天都要查看学生的情况，奥卡雅说这很重要，即使学生们的相机关闭了，或者学生没有分享他们的具体问题。
“开放交流渠道非常重要，即使这不是为了更重要的事情。年轻人知道有成年人关心他们，与他们接触，抽时间与他们交谈，这真的非常重要。”
不同的学校检查学生的情况，以及其他情感支持存在差异。
奥卡雅表示，杰德基金会与一些设立了“休息室”的学校合作，包括将课堂分成更小的在线“教室”，以便学生们可以更公开地进行分享。
萨赫德夫说，她在华盛顿特区合作的一些学校在查看学生情况方面做得很好。他们选择了一名教师或其他学校雇员与学生和家庭一起工作，所以每个学生都有每天要联系的人，他们不必寻找可以交谈的人。该系统还帮助父母或监护人，他们不再需要和几个不同的老师联系。
其他老师在每天的咨询期间使用一种情绪测量仪，这是一种将情绪划分为不同颜色的地图。而且，由于学生每天有几个课时，他们的其他老师如果有能力也可以这样做，奥卡雅说。
萨赫德夫说，总的来说，疫情已经证明，社会情感学习和学习其他科目一样重要。
像奥卡雅和萨赫德夫这样的专家，希望公众理解心理健康不仅是学生和心理咨询师之间的关系。
奥卡雅说，每个与年轻人有过接触的成年人都可以采取措施改善他们的心理健康。例如，即使是公共汽车司机，也能力劝学生寻求帮助。
萨赫德夫解释说，学校绝不能是确保学生和家庭心理健康的唯一机构。她说，医疗保健、劳动力、儿童福利、司法等其他领域也需要支持、解决方案和服务。
爱丽丝·布莱恩特报道。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
