Mental Health of Our Children

Here's what's happening on the HealthyPlace site this week:

• The Mental Health of Our Children
• Are You Parenting A Child with a Mental Illness?
• Share Your Mental Health Experiences
• "PTSD: Dealing with Trauma in Your Life" On HealthyPlace TV
• From HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs

The Mental Health of Our Children

In a week, The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) holds its 2010 convention in Washington, D.C. This year's focus is on "Youth Mental Health."

It's a topic that needs to be addressed. Only one in five children who has a diagnosable mental illness receives treatment, yet children who receive earlier treatment interventions have better outcomes.

Unfortunately, most children with a mental illness go completely undiagnosed. This month, an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) mental health task force called for pediatricians to perform mental health screenings for children at each doctor visit. This is a good start. The AAP also underscored a need for more child psychiatrists and mental health professionals in communities — to overcome critical shortages.

Add to the mix, parents, who have to search high and low for reliable, science-based mental health information focused on children and adolescents - and you can see why so many mentally ill children are falling through the cracks. These parents face difficult decisions in finding help for children who suffer from depression, bipolar disorder, ADHD, anxiety disorders, eating disorders and other serious mental illnesses.

At a time when our healthcare system is being restructured and the economy is in shambles, I'm wondering just how high a priority our children's mental health is to those who write checks. That's another reason why grass-roots organizations that offer local support groups and information - like NAMI, the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, Mental Health America, Anxiety Disorders Association of America, Children and Adults with ADHD (CHADD) and others - are more important than ever.

Are You Parenting A Child with a Mental Illness?

We have plenty of information on child and adolescent mental health in the HealthyPlace Parenting Community. Here are just a few of the articles you may find useful:

• Your Child's Mental Health: 12 Questions Every Parent Should Ask
• Children and Adolescents Can Have Serious Mental Health Problems
• Guide to Treatment for Children With Mental Health Needs
• Accepting Your Child May Have A Mental Illness
• Parenting a Child with ADHD
• Teen Depression: What Parents Need to Know
• Parenting Articles Table of Contents (w/a list of all articles)

Share Your Mental Health Experiences

Share your thoughts on "stigma of mental illness" or any mental health subject, or respond to other people's audio posts, by calling our toll-free number (1-888-883-8045).

You can listen to what other people are saying by clicking on the gray title bars inside the widgets located on the "Sharing Your Mental Health Experiences" homepage, the HealthyPlace homepage, and the HealthyPlace Support Network homepage.

If you have any questions, write us at: info AT healthyplace.com

"PTSD: Dealing with Trauma in Your Life" On HealthyPlace TV

You've heard the term PTSD, but what does that really mean? What kind of traumas and how much trauma can lead a person to develop Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder? And how can you deal with it? on this week's HealthyPlace Mental Health TV Show.

Watch the interview with our guests, Drs. Rosemary Lichtman and Phyllis Goldberg, currently featured on the HealthyPlace Mental Health TV Show website until next Wednesday; watch it here after that.

• PTSD and Trauma in Your Life (tv show blog, audio post, guest info)

Still to Come in June on the HealthyPlace Mental Health TV Show

• Mental Health and the Importance of Nutrition
• Where Do You Get the Strength to Meet Life's Challenges

If you would like to be a guest on the show or share your personal story in writing or via video, please write us at: producer AT healthyplace.com

Click here for a list of previous HealthyPlace Mental Health TV Shows.

From HealthyPlace Mental Health Blogs

Your comments and observations are welcomed.

• Adventures in Bipolar Diagnosis: How I Got Where I Am (Breaking Bipolar Blog)
• 7 Steps to Inbox Zero for the ADHD Mind (ADDaboy! adult ADHD blog)
• Parents and Eating Disorders: What Not To Do (Eating Disorder Recovery: The Power of Parents blog)
• My 2 Least Favorite Words: Just Relax! (Nitty Gritty of Anxiety blog)
• Eating Disorder Treatment: Who's the Boss?
• Managing Morning Anxiety: A Few Yummy Healthy Breakfast Ideas

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments at the bottom of any blog post. And visit the mental health blogs homepage for the latest posts.

back to: HealthyPlace.com Mental-Health Newsletter Index