Child and youth mental health tool kit

Psychology Today Find a Therapist: Broad search engine for finding counsellors, therapists, psychologists, treatment centers and support groups. Mental Health. Everyone has mental health, just like everyone has physical health.

Mental Illness. Bipolar Disorder:. Bipolar disorder is a category that includes three different diagnoses under one umbrella: bipolar I, bipolar II, and cyclothymic disorder. People with bipolar disorder experience intense emotional states that typically occur distinctly, ranging from days to weeks, called mood episodes.

Generally, people with bipolar disorder also experience neutral moods. When treated, people with bipolar disorder can live fulfilling and productive lives. Depressive Disorder:.

Depression, also known as major depressive disorder MDD is a mood disorder in which those who suffer experience persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness and tend to lose interest in activities they previously enjoyed. The development onset of major depressive disorder is typically puberty. It is more common for females to experience than males. Anxiety Disorder:. Anxiety is an adaptive response to stress in our environment. Anxiety disorders differ from typical feelings of nervousness or anxiousness to involve excessive fear, worry, or anxiety.

It is the most common mental illness that can also include other types of anxiety, such as generalized anxiety, social anxiety, and more. Anxiety disorders are manageable and treatable. An anxiety disorder can begin as early as 1 year of age, though is more commonly seen in school-age children, with nearly 1 in 3 adolescents experiencing an anxiety disorder.

Feeding and Eating Disorders:. A persistent disturbance of eating or eating-related behaviour that results in the altered consumption or absorption of food and significantly impairs physical health or psychological, behavioural, and social functioning. Eating disorders are ranked the third most common chronic illness in adolescent females. Substance and Addiction:. Substance-related disorders involve 10 separate classes of drugs: alcohol, caffeine, cannabis, hallucinogens, inhalants, opioids, sedatives, hypnotics, stimulants, tobacco, and others unknown substances.

All drugs that are taken in excess similarly activate the brain reward system, which produces feelings of pleasure or euphoria. Whenever this reward system is activated, our brain notes that something is happening that should be repeated because it is enjoyable.

This is the addictive property drugs hold onto the brain. ADHD is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders typically diagnosed in childhood. Inattention may look like wandering off task, having difficulty staying focused, or inability to stay organized. Hyperactivity may look like excessive motor activity, such as excessive fidgeting, tapping, restlessness, or talkativeness when it is not appropriate. Obsessions are recurrent, persistent thoughts, urges, or images that are perhaps unwanted.

Compulsions are repetitive behaviours or mental acts that are done in response to the obsession, to prevent it from happening, or according to the rules one has made that they apply rigidly to avoid the obsession. Not performing these behaviours leads to great distress. Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders:. Trauma is a lasting response to a stressful event. Psychological distress following a traumatic event can also look a lot like anxiety.

It is not uncommon for a traumatic or anxious response to look alike. The other core symptoms are significantly disorganized or abnormal motor behaviour, and negative symptoms. Delusions are fixed beliefs that are resistant to change despite conflicting evidence. For example, this might be a strong belief that someone is going to be harmed by another individual, despite there being no evidence of that being true.

This is defined as a specific delusion called a persecutory delusion, which is the most common. Hallucinations are experiences that occur without an external stimulus outside reason or cause. Disorganized thinking and speech can be quite sporadic in nature, whether a person jumps from idea to idea, or their ideas are completely unrelated, or their words or sentences just do not make sense. It can be seen as odd posture, excessive motor activity, staring, and more. Therapy is generally defined as treatment for an injury, disability or illness with psychotherapy being specific to treatment of mental health conditions.

Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, can be done by many different professionals ranging from social workers to psychiatrists. Therapy can be beneficial to all types of people, and helpful in many different situations. It can range in intensity and be short or long term. In all cases, the goal is to help people make sense of their emotions and thoughts to live more happy, productive and healthy lives. Social Worker:. They can provide some counselling but are usually not trained to use psychotherapy theories.

Instead, social workers usually help clients attain resources they need to change their circumstances. Social workers are generally involved in government or community services and specialize in family, child and school issues. They generally assist those with limited resources, victims of abuse, families adjusting to a child with mental health struggles, or families adjusting to a member who is differently abled.

Those seeking out counselling range from dealing with trauma, anxiety, depression or just needing some extra support during stressful life events such as mourning a lost one or divorce. Anyone needing some extra support, guidance, a safe place to express their feelings or looking for something potentially long term should consider counselling.

A professional, with a doctorate degree in psychology, trained in psychotherapy who is also able to assign a diagnosis. Psychologists are able to offer support to those with symptoms of a suspected mental disorder and those with more severe mental health struggles looking for a treatment plan more catered to their diagnosis. A professional, with a medical degree, trained in psychotherapy.

They are able to assign a diagnosis, prescribe medication and other medical treatments. Those with mental health struggles such as severe depression or schizophrenia where medication is required should seek out a psychiatrist. Even those with moderate depression and anxiety who have been prescribed drugs by their general practitioner can benefit from a psychiatric consultation as they often have a more comprehensive understanding of disorders and their effective treatments.

In Canada a referral from your doctor is needed to book an appointment with a licensed psychiatrist. Psychotherapy Theories:. The guidelines, themes and general attitudes that counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists use to guide their treatment method.

Different theories will appeal to different people and be more useful for different challenges. Psychodynamic Theories:. These theories are more long term and focused on the individuals and their life experience. They tend to attempt to treat the person as a whole and not just specific problems, and this generally leads to improvements in self-awareness.

A few of the most common are listed below. The original theory of talk therapy developed by Freud. Focuses on making sense of the subconscious and the past. A more intensive form of psychodynamic therapy characterized by a close working partnership between therapist and patient. Person centered therapy:. Find Services Near You. Crisis and Information Lines.

Healthy Minds, Healthy People. Mental Health Act. Intake Clinics. Everyday Anxiety Strategies for Educators. Maples Adolescent Treatment Centre. Suicide Prevention. In Crisis? Get immediate support for a Try a mental health screen. The Youth Test is for young people age who are concerned that their emotions, attention, or behaviors might be signs of a problem.

Let your children know that everyone experiences pain, fear, sadness, worry, and anger and that these emotions are a normal part of life; encourage them to talk about their concerns and to express their emotions. Give your children opportunities to learn and grow, including being involved in their school and community and with other caring adults and friends. Use the mental health professional s at your school as resources for: preventive interventions with students, including social skills training; education for teachers and students on mental health, crisis counseling for teachers and students following a traumatic event, and classroom management skills training for teachers.

Allow your students to discuss troubling events at school or in the community; encourage students to verbally describe their emotions.

Be informed about mental health issues in children and know the warning signs of mental illness. Become familiar with mental health screening tools. Be familiar with the most effective pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatment options.