The Anxious Generation, a book exploring the “collapse of youth mental health,” shows the mental health of adolescents plunged in the early 2010s after a more than a decade of stability. Only 30 percent rural U.S. counties have a mental health facility serving youth, as compared to 60 percent of more populated areas. If your child is resistant to therapy, begin with a doctor’s visit and bloodwork — sometimes physical health issues contribute to mental health struggles. If your child is resistant to therapy, begin with a doctor’s visit and bloodwork — sometimes physical health issues contribute to mental health struggles. I know there’s no singular solution; rural youth mental health is a complex problem that requires all of us to work on it.