Carl Waitz, "Youth Mental Health Crises and the Broken Social Link: A Freudian-Lacanian Perspective" (Routledge, 2024)
Feb 17, 2025
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Dr. Carl Waitz, an attending psychologist at Boston Children's Hospital and faculty at Harvard Medical School, delves into youth mental health crises in his new book. He discusses alarming statistics, including rising suicide rates among adolescents. The conversation explores how social media shapes youth identity, the relevance of initiation rites, and the impact of consumer capitalism. Waitz emphasizes the necessity of supportive environments and psychoanalytic approaches to navigate these challenges, blending personal insight with professional expertise.
The youth mental health crisis is marked by alarming rises in depression and suicide rates, highlighting significant societal influences and psychological challenges.
Psychoanalytic theories from Freud and Lacan provide critical insights into the symbolic structures shaping youth identities and experiences in relation to mental health.
The pervasive impact of consumer culture and social media complicates youth fulfillment, promoting superficial satisfaction while neglecting deeper psychological needs.
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Understanding the Youth Mental Health Crisis
The youth mental health crisis is characterized by rising rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal behavior among adolescents and young adults. Statistical evidence shows an alarming trend, particularly with suicide becoming a leading cause of death in the age group of 10 to 24. This crisis reflects both societal influences and the psychological challenges youth face, necessitating a deeper understanding beyond mere statistics. The discussion emphasizes a psychoanalytic perspective to explore the underlying forces contributing to this crisis, advocating for a comprehensive approach to addressing these challenges.
The Role of Psychoanalytic Thought
Psychoanalytic thinkers such as Freud and Lacan provide insights into the youth mental health crisis by examining the social and psychological dimensions influencing adolescent development. Their theories emphasize the importance of understanding the symbolic structures and societal narratives that shape identities and experiences. By applying psychoanalytic frameworks, practitioners are encouraged to interrogate the broader societal influences on mental health, emphasizing contextual factors that may contribute to youth struggles. This approach seeks to address not only individual symptoms but also the collective dynamics at play within youth culture.
The Impact of Social Media on Identity
Social media has dramatically changed the initiation rites that were traditionally provided by communities, replacing them with a barrage of information that can overwhelm youth. Platforms often serve as substitutes for genuine social connections, leading to a fragmented sense of identity that may struggle to integrate into the broader social body. This can result in pressures to conform to ideals presented online, leading to a skewed understanding of self-worth and success. The absence of meaningful, local initiation rites contributes to confusion and the sense of disconnection among youth, impacting their mental well-being.
Consumerism and the Loss of Meaning
Consumer culture promotes an illusion of fulfillment that ultimately fails to address deeper psychological needs, leaving individuals feeling empty despite material success. This lack generates a cycle of desire that fuels dissatisfaction and mental health issues, particularly in youth who are constantly bombarded with messages that happiness is attainable through consumption. The capitalist discourse, as articulated by Lacan, reflects how society prioritizes surface-level satisfaction while neglecting the essential human experience of navigating desire and lack. This highlights the need for a reevaluation of how these dynamics affect mental health and encourages seeking alternative pathways for fulfillment that promote genuine connections and self-understanding.
“The kids are not ok” blurbs Patricia Gherovici in her endorsement of Dr. Waitz’ necessary new book. We know this. On the weekend we recorded this interview (February 9, 2025) the New York Times published research[1] showing national trendlines from 1990-2024. Rates of depression and suicide; up. Life expectancy and satisfaction; down. Dr. Waitz cites data from 2015-2020 showing suicide as the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10-14. In discussion with colleagues at other hospitals they recognize that these numbers are “striking”. The topic of youth mental health has been on Dr. Waitz’ mind for a long time starting “as far back as when I first started working with adolescents. Even before I and went to graduate school for psychology.” Dr. Waitz’ clinical experience with this material over the years is evident in this thoughtfully researched book. When he and his wife were expecting their “first kid” he realized that “this was starting to be a personal topic in addition to a professional one.” This is a deeply felt book. So was this interview. No matter where we were in our talk I associated to my current cases. Cases of youth in crisis. They cannot be discussed here. So we weaved in and out of the text. Sometimes exploring theory broadly. Sometimes specifically. All our discussion leading to the clinical question, what does psychoanalysis have to offer? We addressed this by discussing two passages near the end of the book.
“Without the fantasy of a sexual rapport any longer, there is no easily available limit on jouissance and this is precisely why the panoply of solutions called the youth mental health crisis (suicide, self-injury, depression, identification with the stigma of diagnosis, and political polarization are substitutionary, if not contrary to the formation of a social link.” (p.180)
“The challenges of psychoanalysis are greater than merely navigating its own exigencies. If it is to have anything to say about the youth mental health crisis, it must find a way of engaging with a non-psychoanalytic society. With this in mind, how can psychoanalysis a practice focused on a singular subject approach a problem of desire - itself a consequence of a loss of initiation rites at a social level while maintaing it's "non desire to cure" (p.175)
As readers of clinical and theoretical literature recognize, analysts tend to shy away from declarative statements preferring to swim in the open waters of the unknown. I was pleased to end the interview by asking Dr. Waitz about his bold declaration, “There is no question more revealing of one's worldview then why one conceived a child one's religion or economics hold no candle to this question.” (p.100)
