News 12 Speaks with Jarkon about Youth Mental Health

In a segment of News 12’s series “The New Normal,” NYITCOM Psychiatrist Liat Jarkon, D.O., director of the Center for Behavioral Health, joined reporter Elizabeth Hashagen for a conversation about parenting and children’s mental health. Among other timely issues related to the youth mental health crisis, Jarkon discusses how a New York State bill aimed at instituting K-12 mental health days could be used most effectively to ensure that children receive the help they need.

“The issue is that we need to make sure that they are used appropriately and that there are parameters to make sure that if the child does take a day off, it’s used as a mental health day,” says Jarkon, who supports the idea of mental health days for K-12 students. “Whether it’s to see a therapist or have conversations with the family, it should be useful, not just [time used] to sit home and avoid going school.”