“We’re still in the storm”: Minnesota students struggle with mental health

Kristen Wiik, a pediatric neuropsychologist at HCMC, says her team was working at capacity with kids before the pandemic. Now there’s a long waitlist, and the hospital refers many kids to other practices. She wishes more schools had school-based mental health services and predicts the demand for mental health support has only just begun.

“I think we’re still in it. We’re still in the middle of the storm,” Wiik said. “One thing we’re anticipating is that the transition back to regular full-time school for a lot of kids is going to be really hard.”