(ABC 6 News) – As back-to-school season is in full swing, returning to the classroom can be hard for students struggling with mental health, increasing the problems they deal with.

Mental health professionals who see children tend to see a spike in cases when kids head back to school.

“Depression can kinda start kicking back up, anxieties often come kicking back up. ADHD stuff because, you know, if it’s the summer you don’t have to really worry about as much structure, and now all of a sudden, ooh structure,” said Neal Petersen, Clinical Director at Ellie Mental Health’s Rochester office.

Petersen is a registered play therapist, who primarily works with children.

“I believe in the powers of play and that this is the native language of children, and so I’m gonna use that,” said Petersen. “I want to build them up, I want them to come in here and see a space that they can communicate and do almost anything they can think of.”

From academics and extracurricular activities, to cyber-bullying and social media, there’s a lot of pressures facing students.

“I don’t know if kids are allowed to be kids as much as they used to anymore,” said Petersen.

Schools have taken notice of this uptick in student mental health concerns. That’s why districts like in Austin have multiple layers of support for students.

“Having either a school counselor or a school social worker in place at every single building,” said Sheri Willrodt, Executive Director of Special Services at Austin Public Schools. “We also have a team of six school psychologists employed throughout the district.”

Austin Public Schools also contracts therapy services through Nexus-Gerard Family Healing as an additional layer of support.

Staff say the district has increased these resources because student mental health issues have gotten worse over the years across all grade levels.

“People like to point to COVID, the COVID years as increasing mental health needs, and I think they definitely did, but I think we were seeing this uptick in mental health needs even before that,” said Willrodt.

While there’s a lot of help available for students struggling with mental health, identifying these concerns starts at home.

Parents should pay attention to any behavioral changes in their kids. If they’re less interested in things they used to like, less talkative or less sociable, these can all be indicators they’re struggling with mental health.

Kids don’t always speak up when they’re struggling, so be sure to talk to your child and don’t be afraid to consult a professional if you think it might be needed.

You can call Ellie Mental Health in Rochester at 507-500-1535, and Nexus-Gerard Family Healing’s outpatient line at 507-434-4366.