90% of adults say the United States is experiencing a mental health crisis

90% of adults say the United States is experiencing a mental health crisis   An overwhelming majority of adults in the United States think the country is experiencing a mental health crisis, according to a new survey from CNN in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation.   Nine out of 10 adults surveyed said they believed that there is a mental health crisis in the US today. Asked to rate the severity of six specific mental health concerns, Americans put the opioid epidemic near the top, with more than two-thirds of people identifying it as a crisis rather than merely a problem. More than half identified mental health issues among children and teenagers as a crisis, as well as severe mental illness in adults.   When it came to mental health in children, nearly half of parents surveyed (47%) say the pandemic has negatively affected their kids’ mental health, with 17% saying it had a major negative impact.   The survey also highlighted barriers to accessing mental health services, with more than half of Americans (55%) thinking most children and teenagers in the US aren’t able to get the help they need. Americans largely agree that the costs of mental health care and differences in the way insurance companies cover mental health vs. physical health are big problems, with nearly two-thirds seeing the lack of providers who take insurance and stigma around mental health problems as significant challenges.   When it came to getting help during a mental health crisis, there was a big question of where people should turn. According to the survey, about 1 in 5 Americans have called 911 because they or a loved one were having a mental or behavioral health crisis. But more than 1 in 4 people surveyed think that calling the emergency line would actually make these situations worse.   Pilot programs across the country are trying to help by embedding mental health professionals in emergency services.   In Durham, North Carolina, the Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Team, or HEART, has a licensed mental health clinician who can field calls directly in the 911 call center and determine the best plan of action for the situation, including sending an unarmed response team into the field.   “We as clinicians have more training in mental health and just assessing people who are struggling with that,” said Jordan Hyler, a licensed mental health clinician and a member of HEART.