Aetna Takes Action to Enhance Adolescent Suicide Prevention

CVS Health and its payer arm, Aetna, will expand its existing program with Psych Hub, advancing its efforts around adolescent suicide prevention.

Over the last several years, the number of teens experiencing mental health disorders has grown. According to KFF data, suicide is the second-leading cause of youth death.

“Years of isolation and loss stemming from COVID-19, combined with our social media culture and other factors, have led adolescents to feel more alone, and more stigmatized, in their mental health challenges,” Cara McNulty, president of behavioral health and mental wellbeing at CVS Health stated in a press release. “As a result, we are targeting several programs and services directly toward youth as part of our steadfast commitment to mental wellbeing and suicide reduction.” 

One of the ways Aetna and Psych Hub plan to address the adolescent mental health crisis is through provider education.

The Adolescent Treatment Training Series will provide employee assistance program providers, CVS Health’s licensed counselors at MinuteClinic, and clinicians in Aetna’s network with access to free resources for suicide prevention.

The platform offers educational courses that use various methods to train providers, including role-play and video instruction. Aetna helped its co-collaborator, Psych Hub, design the curriculum.

The learning modules will help educate mental healthcare providers on building a positive relationship between parents and providers, successful therapies for high-risk communities such as BIPOC and LGBTQ+ youth, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for adolescents.

The program will use concepts from dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), a type of cognitive-behavioral therapy that has been effective for adolescents experiencing emotional instability, CVS Health stated.

“When working with adolescents, it is important to accept and validate their experience while also offering hope that they, unfortunately, cannot see,” Marjorie Morrison, chief executive officer of Psych Hub, stated. “We are honored to continue our collaboration with Aetna to support their care providers, especially around such an urgent issue as youth suicide prevention.” 

Aetna and Psych Hub also announced that they would launch a joint podcast to facilitate candid conversation between youth and leading mental health organizations, including The Trevor Project and the JED Foundation.

In addition, Aetna will continue its Caring Contact program, which delivers postcards to members discharged after a suicide attempt. According to CVS Health, the program had reduced repeat suicide attempts by 70 percent.

Lastly, the payer will offer clinical outreach to high-risk adolescents and their families, providing them with mental health resources to reduce the risk of suicide.

These efforts build off of Aetna and CVS Health’s goal to reduce suicide attempts among their members by 20 percent before 2025.

Aetna is one of many payers taking steps to address mental healthcare. In June, Elevance--formerly known as Anthem--announced it would offer a digital solution to mothers to support maternal mental healthcare needs.

Mothers will be able to use this tool during their recovery from postpartum depression, Elevance stated.

“Many of Anthem’s affiliated health plan members will have access to personalized, science-based care solutions to improve health and well-being across the continuum of the care journey—from digital therapeutics and coaching to community support,” Ofer Leidner, president of Happify Health, explained in the press release.