Debate: Is there a true global children and young people mental health crisis? Fact or Fiction: A South African Perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Daniels
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
South African ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
African Perspective

scholarly journals Working together better for mental health in children and young people during a pandemic: experiences from North Central London during the first wave of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. e001116
Author(s):  
Monika Gorny ◽  
Sarah Blackstock ◽  
Arun Bhaskaran ◽  
Imogen Layther ◽  
Mimoza Qoba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Young People ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Emergency Departments ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
North Central ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
Lessons Learnt

Direct risk from infection from COVID-19 for children and young people (CYP) is low, but impact on services, education and mental health (so-called collateral damage) appears to have been more significant. In North Central London (NCL) during the first wave of the pandemic, in response to the needs and demands for adults with COVID-19, general paediatric wards in acute hospitals and some paediatric emergency departments were closed. Paediatric mental health services in NCL mental health services were reconfigured. Here we describe process and lessons learnt from a collaboration between physical and mental health services to provide care for CYP presenting in mental health crisis. Two new ‘hubs’ were created to coordinate crisis presentations in the region and to link community mental health teams with emergency departments. All CYP requiring a paediatric admission in the first wave were diverted to Great Ormond Street Hospital, a specialist children’s hospital in NCL, and a new ward for CYP mental health crisis admissions was created. This brought together a multidisciplinary team of mental health and physical health professionals. The most common reason for admission to the ward was following a suicide attempt (n=17, 43%). Patients were of higher acute mental health complexity than usually admitted to the hospital, with some CYP needing an extended period of assessment. In this review, we describe the challenges and key lessons learnt for the development of this new ward setting that involved such factors as leadership, training and also new governance processes. We also report some personal perspectives from the professionals involved. Our review provides perspective and experience that can inform how CYP with mental health admissions can be managed in paediatric medical settings.

scholarly journals Supporting Young People’s Mental Health: Reconceptualizing the Role of Schools or a Step Too far?

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Glazzard ◽  
Samuel Stones
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Mental Health Policy ◽  
Medical Model ◽  
Clinical Approach ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Policy Document ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
The Government

This article provides an overview of the United Kingdom government’s strategy for children’s mental health in schools. Critique of the mental health policy document demonstrates that the government has adopted a clinical approach to resolving the mental health “crisis” among children and young people. We argue that a clinical solution, implemented in schools, is not based on robust evidence and that the policy reflects a medical model which positions children and young people with mental ill health through a deficit lens. We argue that the government should, instead, adopt a systemic response which directly addresses the underlying factors which cause mental ill health rather than implementing a clinical approach in schools. We argue that a clinical response at the level of the individual is not appropriate for most children and young people with mental ill health and that there needs to be an urgent review of policy.

scholarly journals Young People’s Attitude Toward Positive Psychology Interventions: Thematic Analysis

10.2196/21145 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. e21145
Author(s):  
Toni Michel ◽  
Franziska Tachtler ◽  
Petr Slovak ◽  
Geraldine Fitzpatrick
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Positive Psychology Interventions ◽  
People’S Attitudes

Background Digital instantiations of positive psychology intervention (PPI) principles have been proposed to combat the current global youth mental health crisis; however, young people are largely not engaging with available resources. Objective The aim of this study is to explore young people’s attitudes toward various PPI principles to find ways of making digital instantiations of them more engaging. Methods We conducted an explorative workshop with 30 young people (aged 16-21 years). They rated and reviewed 29 common PPIs. Ratings and recorded discussions were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Some interventions were conflicting with young people’s values or perceived as too difficult. Participants responded positively to interventions that fit them personally and allowed them to use their strengths. Conclusions Values, context, strengths, and other personal factors are entangled with young people’s attitudes toward digital instantiations of PPI principles.

scholarly journals Experiences and satisfaction of children, young people and their parents with alternative mental health models to inpatient settings: a systematic review

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (12) ◽  
pp. 1621-1633
Author(s):  
Frane Vusio ◽  
Andrew Thompson ◽  
Max Birchwood ◽  
Latoya Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Emotional Reactions ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Alternative Models ◽  
Searching Strategy ◽  
Crisis Services ◽  
Inpatient Settings

Abstract Community-based mental health services for children and young people (CYP) can offer alternatives to inpatient settings and treat CYP in less restrictive environments. However, there has been limited implementation of such alternative models, and their efficacy is still inconclusive. Notably, little is known of the experiences of CYP and their parents with these alternative models and their level of satisfaction with the care provided. Therefore, the main aim of this review was to understand those experiences of the accessibility of alternative models to inpatient care, as well as overall CYP/parental satisfaction. A searching strategy of peer-reviewed articles was conducted from January 1990 to December 2018, with updated searches conducted in June 2019. The initial search resulted in 495 articles, of which 19 were included in this review. A narrative synthesis grouped the studies according to emerging themes: alternative models, tele-psychiatry and interventions applied to crisis, and experiences and satisfaction with crisis provision. The identified articles highlighted increased satisfaction in CYP with alternative models in comparison with care as usual. However, the parental experiential data identified high levels of parental burden and a range of complex emotional reactions associated with engagement with crisis services. Furthermore, we identified a number of interventions, telepsychiatric and mobile solutions that may be effective when applied to urgent and emergency care for CYP experiencing a mental health crisis. Lastly, both parental and CYP experiences highlighted a number of perceived barriers associated with help-seeking from crisis services.

scholarly journals Young People’s Attitude Toward Positive Psychology Interventions: Thematic Analysis (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toni Michel ◽  
Franziska Tachtler ◽  
Petr Slovak ◽  
Geraldine Fitzpatrick
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Youth Mental Health ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
P Values ◽  
People’S Attitudes

BACKGROUND Digital instantiations of positive psychology intervention (PPI) principles have been proposed to combat the current global youth mental health crisis; however, young people are largely not engaging with available resources. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to explore young people’s attitudes toward various PPI principles to find ways of making digital instantiations of them more engaging. METHODS We conducted an explorative workshop with 30 young people (aged 16-21 years). They rated and reviewed 29 common PPIs. Ratings and recorded discussions were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS Some interventions were conflicting with young people’s values or perceived as too difficult. Participants responded positively to interventions that fit them personally and allowed them to use their strengths. CONCLUSIONS Values, context, strengths, and other personal factors are entangled with young people’s attitudes toward digital instantiations of PPI principles.

How well do children in the North East of England function after a crisis: a service evaluation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Staite ◽  
Lynne Howey ◽  
Clare Anderson ◽  
Paula Maddison
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Service Evaluation ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
The Uk

Purpose Data shows that there is an increasing number of young people in the UK needing access to mental health services, including crisis teams. This need has been exacerbated by the current global pandemic. There is mixed evidence for the effectiveness of crisis teams in improving adult functioning, and none, to the authors’ knowledge, that empirically examines the functioning of young people following intervention from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) crisis teams in the UK. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to use CAMHS Crisis Team data, from an NHS trust that supports 1.4 million people in the North East of England, to examine a young person's functioning following a crisis. Design/methodology/approach This service evaluation compared functioning, as measured by the Outcome Rating Scale (ORS), pre- and post-treatment for young people accessing the CAMHS Crisis Team between December 2018 and December 2019. Findings There were 109 participants included in the analysis. ORS scores were significantly higher at the end of treatment (t(108) = −4.2046, p < 0.001) with a small effect size (d = −0.36). Sixteen (15%) patients exhibited significant and reliable change (i.e. functioning improved). A further four (4%) patients exhibited no change (i.e. functioning did not deteriorate despite being in crisis). No patients significantly deteriorated in functioning after accessing the crisis service. Practical implications Despite a possibly overly conservative analysis, 15% of patients not only significantly improved functioning but were able to return to a “healthy” level of functioning after a mental health crisis following intervention from a CAMHS Crisis Team. Intervention(s) from a CAMHS Crisis Team are also stabilising as some young people’s functioning did not deteriorate following a mental health crisis. However, improvements also need to be made to increase the number of patients whose functioning did not significantly improve following intervention from a CAMHS Crisis Team. Originality/value This paper evaluates a young person’s functioning following a mental health crisis and intervention from a CAMHS Crisis Team in the North East of England.

scholarly journals How well do children in the North East of England function after a mental health crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic: A service evaluation

2021 ◽  
pp. 135910452110372
Author(s):  
Emily Staite ◽  
Lynne Howey ◽  
Clare Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Service Evaluation ◽  
Mental Health Crisis ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Before And After ◽  
The Uk

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected millions of people, and some researchers postulate that a mental health crisis will follow. The immediate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s mental health are now starting to be published, and results appear to be mixed. There is no research, to the authors’ knowledge, that empirically examines the functioning of young people following intervention from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) Crisis Teams in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. This service evaluation aims to do this using data from an NHS trust that supports 1.4 million people in the North East of England. We compared functioning, as measured by the Outcome Rating Scale (ORS), before and after treatment for young people discharged from the CAMHS Crisis Team between December 2019 and December 2020. ORS scores were significantly higher at the end of treatment (t(420) = −57.36, p < 0.001) with a large effect size (d = −1.56). Fifty eight percent of patients exhibited significant and reliable change (i.e. functioning improved to a ‘healthy’ level). No patients significantly deteriorated in functioning after accessing the crisis service.

scholarly journals What should a Universal School-Based Psychoeducational Programme to Support Psychological Well-Being amongst Children and Young People in South Africa Focus on and how should it be Delivered? A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bronwynè J. Coetzee ◽  
Hermine Gericke ◽  
Suzanne Human ◽  
Paul Stallard ◽  
Maria Loades
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
South Africa ◽  
Young People ◽  
South African ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
South African Context ◽  
Children And Young People ◽  
School Based ◽  
African Context

AbstractChildren and young people are vulnerable to developing mental health problems. In South Africa, this vulnerability is compounded by contextual risk factors such as community violence and poverty. However, mental health services are scarce and costly, which precludes access for many. Universal school-based mental health programmes can prevent the onset of mental health problems in children and young people and have been implemented to good effect in high-income settings. We sought to understand stakeholder perspectives on what such a programme should focus on and how it could be implemented in practice within the South African context. We interviewed children and young people (n = 22), parents (n = 21), teachers (n = 17), and school mental health counsellors (n = 6) recruited from two schools in the Western Cape, South Africa. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. We generated three overarching themes: ‘the value of a mental health and well-being programme’, ‘content and delivery’, and ‘practicalities and logistics’. Participants were optimistic about the potential value of such a programme. Developing content that was appropriate for group delivery, flexible and timed to fit within the school schedule was important. Finding ways to make activities meaningful for large classes was important logistically, as was determining to what extent leaners would feel comfortable participating alongside their peers. Participants felt that outsiders, as opposed to school staff, should deliver the programme and that parents should be involved where possible. Developing a mental health programme for children and young people in the South African context requires careful understanding of who the key role players in such an intervention will be and how exactly they want to be involved and, how the challenges associated with practicalities and logistics can be overcome.

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