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Missed Opportunities for Supporting Children’s Mental Health Lorraine Khan, Associate Director for Children and Young People, Centre for Mental Health

Lorraine Khan

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Missed Opportunities for Supporting Children’s Mental Health

Lorraine Khan, Associate Director for Children and Young People, Centre for Mental Health

Missed Opportunities: headlines from research and practice

Three children and young people in every classroom will have a diagnosable mental health difficulty

Many more remain under this threshold but will be on a trajectory for poor mental health

Untreated mental health problems cast a long shadow, well into adult life

Early good quality help can improve children’s outcomes

Most parents seek help – usually from schoolsOnly a quarter get assistance

On average young people wait 10 years before getting help

Diagnosable difficulties among 16 to 24 year old women have increased by around 30% - a huge jump

Current problems in the system

We lack a common working language for mental health

Whole system integration remains a challenge

Ongoing cuts create commissioning risks: we still largely focus on crisis (rather than early intervention and prevention)

Perinatal mental illness is a major risk factor for poor child mental health

Only half of mothers are identified

Only half of these mothers get any treatment despite routine contact with primary care

Good news: there is government investment in specialist perinatal mental health services

But: identification and getting help relies on effective and well integrated primary mental health services

midwives, health visitors, GPs, improving access to psychological therapies

Question How integrated are your primary perinatal mental health services and what systems promote joint working?

How well do you develop and integrate primary and specialist perinatal mental health activity?

Early starting behavioural difficulties

Childhood conduct problems remain our most common childhood mental illness

Children’s needs often missed – despite most parents seeking help

children can be punished rather than seen as children in need

Parents hold key to helping children settle their behaviour – by learning specific parenting strategies

There are some of the most effective interventions for these difficultiesNeed to be well implemented

In some of the areas, fewer than 20% of children and parents are being reached

Challenges

Identification and parental engagement relies on integrated action between early years activity/nurseries, GPs, schools, social care and local parenting activity

Identification remains hit and miss

Key Question

What percentage of children are you reaching in your local area with parenting interventions that work?

Possible strategiesScreening children in reception year to pick up those requiring extra help

Offering proven parenting support to all children at risk of exclusion

Targeting children struggling with behaviour in school

Schools

Most children spend large parts of their life in schools

Research suggests schools have unique opportunities to promote children’s mental health

Children with good mental health do better in school and in life:

Social and emotional competencies are essential for children’s success in life

Good quality universal and targeted programmes can prevent poor mental health and improve resilience and coping skills

Investment in CYP mental health saves money (WSIPP, 2016)

Current challenges affecting schools and local systems

Specialist CAMHS

Schools and colleges

ChallengesNearly 80% of schools colleges need speedy access to reliable and practical advice/resources to promote CYP mental

These resources are currently extremely widely dispersed

Schools often struggle to understand the local landscape of support

Schools often feel isolated supporting children with social and emotional difficulties

Lack of partnership working

Schools have limited resources to invest in mental health and want to know what’s the best investment

Doing more and more with less and less

Promising developments and ideas being tried

Bringing schools and local CAMHS services together – Anna Freud Centre/PHE

Mental Health First Aid Training for school staff

Designated EHWB leads in school - backed up by local networks and capacity building

Building capacity in Learning Mentors and school nurses to support SEL

Commissioning EHWB teams that link with schools: helping children who are struggling or with common diagnosable mental health problems

What works in schools in enhancing social and emotional skills development

(Clarke, 2015)

Dr Pooky Knightsmith’s webinars – practical advice. http://www.inourhands.com/category/training-and-consultancy/online-learning/

NCBs Whole School Mental health and emotional wellbeing toolkithttps://www.ncb.org.uk/sites/default/files/field/attachment/NCB%20School%20Well%20Being%20Framework%20Leaders%20Resources%20FINAL.pdf

16 to 24 year olds: what is happening to our young women?

16 to 24 year olds:

Most likely to develop first diagnosable difficulties at this age

Least likely to approach services than any other age group – only 20%

Containing episodes of illness and preventing re-occurrence during this time reduces chance of poor adult mental health and life chances

Since 2007 - 30% increase in diagnosable depression and anxiety (including increase in severity of problems) in young women

urgent need to understand what’s driving this deterioration & to find solutions

Key questions:

What percentage of need for this age group is being met locally by Improving Access to Psychological Therapies

How engaged/satisfied are this age group with these services

What can local areas do to understand and address deteriorations in young women’s mental health

Thank you

[email protected]