Like all of us this year, John Ackerman is “figuring it out.”
Ackerman, an Upper Arlington resident of five years, is currently juggling keeping his two girls – ages 6 and 9 – happy and busy with online school, while managing half-in-person and half-telehealth appointments for Nationwide Children’s Hospital, where Ackerman is the suicide prevention coordinator and a child clinical psychologist.
“For as long as I’ve been in the field, I’ve felt that you can make the largest impact and really alter life trajectories by helping individuals learn how to cope more effectively and meet the challenges of a mental health diagnosis,” he says. “I also happen to really like kids, so it’s a good fit.”
While Ackerman is fascinated with seeing the world through young people’s eyes and enjoys watching them grow into healthy, stable adults, the job can be difficult.
John Nixon John Nixon Photography
“It can be hard to watch them struggle,” he says. “Especially when they’re dealing with anxiety or depression or even thoughts of ending their lives, but it’s reinforcing to know there are interventions that work, and when you see young kids tackle difficult thoughts and emotions that have them feel like life isn’t worth living, that’s so rewarding.”
One subject Ackerman has been digging through during his career is the correlation between social media and its impact on mental health in children. It’s a tricky line to walk because on one hand, platforms such as Facebook and Instagram can help kids stay connected and talk to friends even when they’re apart. On the other hand, more screen time has been shown to increase poor self-esteem.
“Social media is a tool,” he says. “It can be used to connect and enhance young people’s lives but it can also make mental health symptoms worse, especially those who already struggle with depression and anxiety.”
He says moderate to low social media access is totally typical and fine. How and why it’s being used is more important than just the number of hours spent on it. Ackerman says parents need to have a working knowledge of what is going on behind those screens and have open conversations with their kids about how social media makes them feel.
In his own household, Ackerman’s kids are limited on social media use, but it’s not used as a punishment.
“We have to be more creative and find time, especially during the pandemic,” he says. “I think kids naturally want to engage with others and do things more nutritious for their brains.”
Reaching Out
One of the biggest projects Ackerman has been involved in is Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Center for Suicide Prevention and Research (CSPR) and its reach into schools. He and other experts at Nationwide believe in the power of providing young people with the tools and knowledge to recognize signs of depression and suicide within themselves and their peers.
The nationally recognized program, Signs of Suicide (SOS), has demonstrated a 40-60 percent reduction in student self-reported suicide attempts. The CSPR has provided training and support to 2,020 classrooms in 142 schools in 18 Ohio counties.
“Detecting suicide risk early leads to a low level of intervention which is very manageable for a family,” Ackerman says. “Whereas, if you wait until there’s a crisis and you need the emergency department and major interventions, it’s incredibly disruptive. Let’s teach these skills early and detect the at-risk kids now.”
Ackerman says the CSPR has screened more than 50,000 kids for early signs of depression or suicidal thoughts, offering thousands of kids the help they need before things escalate.
“I don’t think kids are always able to put words into what they’re going through,” he says. “I think they feel like a burden at times, but we have this program that goes through what these symptoms and warning signs are.”
It can be incredibly frustrating for young people struggling with mental health because they might not have the language to describe what they’re feeling. Ackerman says kids often associate depressive behaviors with stigmatizing words such as “odd” or “weak.”
“Boys should be able to say they’re having a hard time,” he says. “Girls should be able to connect with people without feeling like a burden.”
Family Man
Outside of his passion for work, Ackerman likes to be as active as possible and runs, bikes and hikes. He’s a big sports fan and loves watching the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Crew. Plus, Ackerman is a bona-fide comfort food master.
“I like to make comfort food a little fancier,” he says, laughing.
His most recent conquest is deep-dish skillet pizza: a crispy crust and caramelized bubbling cheese. He also goes back to his East Coast, more specifically Maryland, roots by cooking anything and everything with crab in it.
Overall, Ackerman appears to be what most parents would hail as a superdad. While he refutes the title, Ackerman says he just tries to understand the types of things that contribute to overall health and always listens to people. Most importantly, he prioritizes time with his wife, Claire, and two daughters.
“Being able to watch them grow and develop and take part in those things, whether it’s being active or cooking or reading, is rewarding,” he says. “I have a fairly intense work topic, so I try to keep things light by seeing opportunities in day-to-day life to not take myself so seriously.”
Ackerman keeps himself grounded as a parent and in his professional life by remembering the good in the world.
“I think it’s just knowing a lot of people before you made sacrifices and you can instill good values because you’re part of something much, much bigger,” he says.
Mallory Arnold is an associate editor. Feedback welcome at marnold@cityscenemediagroup.com.
