This is Fresh Air. I'm Dave Davies in for Terry Gross. Last December, US Surgeon General

Vivek Murthy issued a special advisory about what he called an alarming increase in the mental

health challenges facing American teenagers. Studies show that rates of depression, anxiety,

self-harmoned suicide have risen sharply in recent years among adolescents.

Our guest, New York Times reporter Matt Richtill, has spent nearly two years reporting on the

dimensions of this crisis. Interviewing teens and parents about their experiences,

visiting emergency rooms where teens in crisis spend multiple days in exam rooms waiting for

an opening in treatment. Andy spoke to pediatricians struggling to help families with these issues

because there simply aren't enough mental health treatment options available to them.

In a series of articles in the Times, Richtill also explores possible causes of the crisis.

While there's no clear consensus among experts on the root of the problem,

there is research that provides important insights into the nature of teen suffering

and some treatments that show promise. Matt Richtill has been with the New York Times since 2000,

where he's focused on science, technology, and business. In 2010, he won the Pulitzer Prize for

National Reporting for a series on the hazardous use of cell phones, computers, and other devices

while driving. He's written several books, including one published this past spring titled,

Inspired Understanding Creativity. His series about the mental health crisis among American teens

is available online. It's called the Enter Pandemic. Well, Matt Richtill, welcome back to Fresh Air.

You know, you're right in the series that three decades ago, public health threats for teenagers

have really changed over the last, you know, stretch of time. What were the concerns years ago?

How have they evolved? When I began this two years ago, I had an intuitive sense

as lots of people did that anxiety and depression and suicide and self-harm were up among young people.

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