To develop evidence like that would be challenging. If we want causal evidence, we usually do things like randomized control trials, and it would be pretty unethical to put people on wait-lists and see. I think what we typically see, though, is that many of the patients I see in the emergency department had issues that.... Maybe I'm just coming off as an expert who looks backwards or something like that, but I always think, “You know, eight months ago, I could have really helped a lot easier with this than in the situation I'm in right now.”
What we know for sure is that unaddressed, untreated mental health issues, untherapized mental health issues...and for kids I have to say that therapy is super important and even harder to access than medications from a family doctor or psychiatrist. These things, if they're not addressed early, they fester. They grow. Many of us know adults who struggle with major mental health issues because of childhood issues that were never addressed. It's just one of those things that is really important.