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Dr. Richard Meen interview on Syl Apps Youth Centre and YJSubmitted by admin on Wed, 01/05/2011 - 12:48The Importance of Being InvolvedBy Sarah Cannon, Executive Director, Parents for Children’s Mental Health It is no accident that the theme for the month of May on speaking of kids mental health is awareness. May 2-9 is Child and Youth Mental Health Awareness Week. Unfortunately, outside of those of us who live with or work with or are somehow directly related to the sector, few are even aware there needs to be an awareness week, few are even aware that there is indeed a very real crisis among our children and youth and the cause - mental illness. Read more » Article: Inquiry needed into youth mental health services: lawyerA prominent St. John's lawyer is calling for a full public inquiry into mental health services for young people in Newfoundland and Labrador. Bob Buckingham represents the families of three teens who have repeatedly attempted suicide. Although Darlene Neville, Newfoundland and Labrador's youth advocate, has launched an investigation into psychiatric services offered through the province's only pediatric hospital, Buckingham said that does not go far enough. Read more » Article: Mental health commission visits ReginaREGINA -- The team responsible for developing a mental health strategy for Canada made a stop in Regina on Tuesday to gather input from local stakeholders. The Mental Health Commission of Canada (MHCC) recently released a draft paper entitled “Toward Recovery & Well-Being” that sets out eight goals for the country’s mental health system. Read more » Article: Parents battle for special kidsParents struggling to raise children with mental health illnesses are calling on the Ontario government to protect and enhance services despite the difficult economic times. Parent Sarah Cannon, of St. Catharines, whose 12-year-old daughter has been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, told a news conference yesterday that only one out of six children with mental health illnesses in the province are able to access services and then only after months on waiting lists. Read more » Article: Parents seek more than detentionsFor years, Sylvia Naumovski watched as her disruptive son was punished at school while she tried to find help for his mental illness. He was sent to the principal's office, given detentions and suspended. While he excelled at volleyball and soccer, he was frequently excluded from team events for bad behaviour. Things only got worse in adolescence as he headed down a path of substance abuse and delinquent behaviour and quit school. Now 20, he's still struggling. Read more » Article: Raising a child with a mental illnessOn a Monday morning in September, 2006, during what they call their "darkest of days," Heather Bishop and Sean Quigley committed their 10-year-old daughter, Erynn, to a psychiatric hospital. The breaking point came after a Saturday shopping trip to a Sam's Club in their hometown of London, Ont. When Ms. Bishop casually suggested to Erynn that she put a toy back on the shelf, the girl's expression clouded, then she erupted into screams. There was no way to bring her back: Soon, she would be throwing punches. They had to get out of the store. Read more » Article: Some children are destined to be bullied"Why me?" is the common, heartbreaking plea of children bullied at school - and one for which parents have no answer. But now, findings from a longitudinal study of Quebec children suggest there are answers, some of them surprising. A child's tendency toward aggression - a trait usually associated with bullies, not their victims - appears to be a major indicator of future victimization. Read more » Article: Cancer death rate 65% higher among the mentally illPeople suffering from mental illness have a death rate from cancer that is 65 per cent higher than others in the general population, according to new Canadian research. And the higher mortality rate exists even though those with mental illness are not significantly more likely to develop cancer, the research team found. While the data do not explain why the death rate is so much higher, researchers believe the most likely culprit is stigma: that health professionals are failing to see beyond mental health to diagnose physical ailments in a timely manner, even grave ones such as cancer. Read more » Article: Dual diagnosisFor Tammy Kliewer, learning that her two-year-old son Tavish had autism felt like solving a major puzzle. He had been non-verbal and "very much in a world of his own" his whole young life. Yet the diagnosis didn't explain his other behaviour: complete meltdowns, violently banging his head and biting his arms. "We could do nothing but restrain him when he went into a meltdown," said Ms. Kliewer from her home in Barrie, Ont. Read more »  |
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