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mental health conditions
“When Something’s Wrong; Ideas For Families”
by Staff Writers at Healthy Minds Canada, formerly CPRF
“When Something’s Wrong: Ideas for Families” and a sister handbook “Ideas for Teachers” are two exhaustively researched and crafted handbooks for parents and teachers, respectively – that simply and clearly help put children’s mental health conditions and behaviour in easily understood terms and actionable strategies for recognition and response. This is no small feat. It took years of advisory work and the dedicated resources of practitioners, caregivers, academics and policy makers to create these handbooks.
The books themselves are structured in chapters on key mental health conditions, by type. Here is an excerpt from the “When Something’s Wrong; Ideas for Families” introduction:
When Something’s Wrong: Ideas for Families is divided into sections – one for each symptom family (e.g., Mood Disorders) and each disorder (e.g., Depression). A brief description, a list of behavioural characteristics, suggested coping strategies, and some additional resources can be found for each disorder. Sections can be used independently, or in combination with each other.
Table of Contents: Managing Problem Behaviour in Children
Anxiety and Anxiety Disorders:
• General Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Panic Disorder
• Post traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Separation Anxiety Disorder
• Social Anxiety Disorder
Autism and Autism Spectrum Disorders:
•Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
Eating Disorders:
• Anorexia and Bulimia Nervosa
Impulse Control Disorders:
• Attention-Deficit/
• Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD)
• Conduct Disorder (CD)
• Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)
Mood Disorders:
• Bipolar Affective Disorder
• Depression
Schizophrenia
Suicide
Tourette Syndrome (TS)
Working with Your Health Practitioner
When Something’s Wrong: Ideas for Families has been designed to give parents, caregivers or other family members useful strategies to cope with and assist children and youth with mood, behaviour, or thinking difficulties (e.g., social withdrawal, disorganized thinking, hostility, aggression, agitation). Even more than the frustration felt by us, as parents, we must recognize, with empathy, that our child’s difficult behaviour creates tremendous stress for him/her as well. In many cases, behavioural disturbances are temporary and a normal part of growing up; in others, they may reflect a mental disorder. Keep in mind that all of the behaviours and conditions discussed in this handbook occur on a spectrum from normal (although irritating or concerning) to serious, with varying degrees of frequency, intensity and duration. The more frequent or intense, and the longer your child’s behaviour continues, the more likely that you may need to seek help from a health practitioner.
If your child has a mental disorder, you are not alone. Mental disorders occur in about 20% of the population – that’s one out of every five people in Canada. Although it isn’t known yet exactly what causes most mental disorders, many factors (e.g., genetics, the environment) do play a role, and research continues to reveal new discoveries. The good news is that identifying and treating a mental disorder early in a child’s life can really improve the outcome for the child. Getting the right treatment and support for your child is not always easy. In order to get a proper diagnosis or find out what services are offered in your community, you may come up against a number of roadblocks. This handbook has been designed to make this road a bit easier to travel.
This handbook is useful on three levels:
1. It can help reassure you that your child’s behaviour is normal for his/her age and stage of development. The coping strategies outlined in each section of the handbook can still be useful to form a basis for consistent behaviour management and lower anxiety in your child’s life and in your own.
2. It can assist you in knowing when to seek help or extra support.
3. If your child has already been diagnosed with one of these conditions, it can suggest many practical and useful coping strategies and direct you to resources and supports in your community.
Excerpt Contributed by HEALTHY MINDS CANADA
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