Do suicide rates in children and adolescents change during school closure in Japan? The acute effect of the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic on child and adolescent mental health

Approximately 10% of children and adolescents experience mental health problems, however only a small proportion receive specialised help. Identifying approaches which can provide a balanced and effective service for the large number of children and adolescents with problems is currently a major challenge for child and adolescent mental health services in Australia. In South Australia, following a review in 1983, child and adolescent services were reorganised into two separate but closely related services. This paper draws on experience in South Australia over the last decade to identify approaches which can be employed in six key areas that significantly influence the effectiveness of child and adolescent mental health services. The paper also describes the specific features which were included in the South Australian child and adolescent mental health service to address these issues.

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Child Mental Health in Latin America: Present and Future Epidemiologic Research

The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine ◽

10.2190/4wjb-bw16-2tge-565w ◽

2003 ◽

Vol 33 (3) ◽

pp. 203-222 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Cristiane Duarte ◽

Christina Hoven ◽

Carlos Berganza ◽

Isabel Bordin ◽

Hector Bird ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Latin America ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Latin American ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Adolescent Mental Health ◽

Child And Adolescent ◽

Health Problems ◽

Prevention And Treatment ◽

Latin American Countries

Objective: This report reviews population studies of child and adolescent mental health carried out in Latin America over the past 15 years. Also considered is the issue of how to meet the needs of children and adolescents who may present mental health problems in Latin America, given that most of them live in poverty in economies that are underdeveloped, providing limited resources. Method: Ten studies from six different countries were identified that employed some form of randomized sampling method and used standardized instruments for assessment. The authors present a summary of the main characteristics of these studies, highlighting methodological features that may account for differences in the rates obtained. Results: Overall, a similar pattern of prevalence and risk factors for mental health problems in children and adolescents in Latin American countries emerged. Moreover, rates of disorders in these children are similar to the 15 to 20% found in other countries. These findings are similar to those observed when adult mental health problems are considered. Prevention and treatment strategies are discussed and the peculiarities of the delivery of mental health services for children and adolescents are explored. Conclusions: Future research needs to focus on understanding of resilience and formal and informal mental health delivery systems of care available in different Latin American countries. Such research has high potential for ameliorating the prevention and treatment of child and adolescent mental health problems in this region of the world.

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Viral time capsule: a global photo-elicitation study of child and adolescent mental health professionals during COVID-19

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health ◽

10.1186/s13034-021-00359-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Olivia D. Herrington ◽

Ashley Clayton ◽

Laelia Benoit ◽

Cecil Prins-Aardema ◽

Madeline DiGiovanni ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Mental Health Professionals ◽

Health Professionals ◽

International Association ◽

Adolescent Mental Health ◽

Child And Adolescent ◽

Child And Adolescent Psychiatry ◽

Photo Elicitation ◽

Snowball Sampling

Abstract Objective To examine, through photo-elicitation, the personal and professional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health professionals working with children and adolescents around the globe. Methods We invited the submission of images collected about the pandemic between May and August 2020. We encouraged participants to yoke personal reflections or voice memos to their images. Using snowball sampling, we began with two invitations, including one to the graduates of a mentorship program continuously hosted since 2004 by the International Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions (IACAPAP). We analyzed de-identified images and anonymized transcripts through iterative coding using thematic analysis informed by rich picture analysis and aided by NVivo software. Results We collected submissions from child and adolescent mental health professionals (n = 134) working in 54 countries spread across the five continents. We identified four overarching domains with component themes that revealed both the commonality and the uniqueness of the pandemic experience around the globe: (1) Place (adjusting to emptiness and stillness; shifting timeframes; blending of spaces); (2) Person (disruption to life rhythms; emotional toll; positives of the pandemic); (3) Profession (changing practices; outreach efforts; guild pride—and guilt); and (4) Purpose (from pandemic to syndemic; from lamenting to embracing; planning toward a better tomorrow). Conclusions Photo-elicitation provided a disarming and efficient means to learn about individual, regional, and global similarities and differences regarding the professionals charged with addressing the mental health needs of children and adolescents around the globe. These findings may help inform practice changes in post-pandemic times.

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The Current situation of Child and adolescent psychological problems and intervention in China

Asian Journal of Medical Sciences ◽

10.3126/ajms.v7i3.13901 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 15-17 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Wenyan Jiao ◽

Lin Liu ◽

Rui Li ◽

Na Zhao

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Psychological Health ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Mental Disease ◽

Adolescent Mental Health ◽

Child And Adolescent ◽

Health Problems ◽

Current Situation ◽

Psychological Problems

In China, the psychological health problems of children and adolescents have been more and more serious recently. The psychological disorders not only have a lot of adverse effects for children and adolescents, but also were an important source of mental disease in adulthood. In order to make more people understand this serious problem, this paper summarized the current situation of child and adolescent mental health problems in China and the risk factors for child and adolescent mental health problems; additionally, the interventions of child and adolescent psychological problems were also reviewed in this paper.Asian Journal of Medical Sciences Vol. 7(3) 2016 15-17

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Supporting Parents of Children with Serious Mental Health Problems

The Power of Positive Parenting ◽

10.1093/med-psych/9780190629069.003.0010 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 135-144

Author(s):

Kylie Burke

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Serious Mental Illness ◽

Well Being ◽

Adolescent Mental Health ◽

Child And Adolescent ◽

Parenting Interventions ◽

Treatment Services ◽

Treatment Gains

Serious mental illness affects between 10% and 20% of children and adolescents, significantly representing the world’s children and adolescents. Parents are a critical protective factor in their child’s treatment and recovery from serious mental illness. They support the child during treatment, manage symptom reduction, maintain treatment gains, and promote their child’s development and well-being. Parenting a child or adolescent with serious mental illness places significant strain and burden on them. This chapter discusses evidence-based parenting interventions (e.g., the Triple P—Positive Parenting Program) within the child and adolescent mental health context and their potential to be flexibly and sustainably incorporated into existing usual treatment services. The need is highlighted for researchers, policy-makers, and service providers to focus on developing child- and family-focused mental health policy and better processes for conducting high-quality research that examines specific and combined contributions of parenting interventions within child and adolescent mental health services.

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Call for papers – CAMH Special Issue 2023 ‘Technology and mental health for children and adolescents: pros and cons’

10.13056/acamh.18158 ◽

2021 ◽

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Adolescent Mental Health ◽

Child And Adolescent ◽

Special Issue ◽

Pros And Cons

ACAMH's journal 'Child and Adolescent Mental Health' invites manuscripts for a special issue entitled ‘Technology and mental health for children and adolescents: pros and cons’ to be edited by Prof. Lina Gega, Prof. Sally Merry, Prof. Kapil Sayal and Dr. Jennifer Martin, and due for publication in February 2023.

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Child and adolescent mental health policy worldwide: an update

International Psychiatry ◽

10.1192/s174936760000223x ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 5 (4) ◽

pp. 81-84 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jess P. Shatkin ◽

Neaka Balloge ◽

Myron L. Belfer

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Systems Of Care ◽

Mental Health Policy ◽

Adolescent Mental Health ◽

Child And Adolescent ◽

Care Training ◽

Programme Development ◽

Training Programmes ◽

Mental Health Policies

Few countries worldwide maintain policies specifically designed to address the mental health needs of children and adolescents. Yet policies are essential to guide the development of systems of care, training programmes for practitioners, and research endeavours. Without policy, there is no clear pathway for programme development, no specific commitment from government, no expression of governance, no guide to support funding, and no clarification of who exactly is responsible for providing services to children and adolescents. In 2004, we published a report aimed at identifying child and adolescent mental health policies worldwide (Shatkin & Belfer, 2004). The present review expands upon that report and provides an up-to-date assessment of these policies.

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Identification and Management of COVID-19 Related Child and Adolescent Mental Health Problems: A Multi-Tier Intervention Model

Frontiers in Public Health ◽

10.3389/fpubh.2020.590002 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Gunjan Dhonju ◽

Arun Raj Kunwar ◽

Utkarsh Karki ◽

Narmada Devkota ◽

Isha Bista ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Human Resources ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Mental Health Professionals ◽

Community Support ◽

Adolescent Mental Health ◽

Child And Adolescent ◽

Full Time ◽

Intervention Model ◽

Online Platform

Nepal is a low and medium-income country (LMIC), situated in South-east Asia, with a population of 29 million, of which, 40–50% are children and adolescents. The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has affected the lives of people around the world, including Nepal. The child and adolescent mental health (CAMH) needs and services in Nepal have a significant gap. CAMH in Nepal suffers from lack of specialized training in this field as well as scarcity of human resources and services. There is only one full-time child and adolescent psychiatry (CAP) out-patient clinic in the country. Some recent activities have focused on CAMH in Nepal but the COVID-19 pandemic has produced new challenges. Access to mental health services for children and adolescents (C&A) across Nepal has been adversely affected. Factors such as closure of schools, confinement at home, lockdown, transportation problems, uncertainty, loss of usual routine and fear of infection have affected the mental health of C&A. This has highlighted a need to build capacity of available local human resources, enhance community support, teach measures of coping with stress and improve CAMH service delivery by strengthening the referral system, but these have to be addressed overcoming problems of travel restrictions and limited resources. To address these needs, online platform can be a suitable approach. With this view, a multi-tier CAMH intervention model was developed, which utilizes online platform for training mental health professionals across Nepal, who would then facilitate sessions for C&A, teachers, parents and caregivers; and link them to CAMH services locally, and remotely through teleconsultation. This started as a pilot from June 2020 and will continue till end of February 2021, with the aim to reach 40,000 C&A, parents, teachers and caregivers. As of Nov 2020, this model has been used to successfully conduct 1,415 sessions, with 28,597 population reached. Among them, 16,571 are C&A and 12,026 are parents, teachers and caregivers, across all 7 provinces of Nepal. In this paper, the multi-tier intervention to address the COVID-19 related CAMH problems has been discussed as a feasible framework for resource limited settings and LMICs like Nepal.

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