Children's Mental Health as a Primary Care and Concern: A System for Comprehensive Support and Service.

Abstract

In response to the serious crisis in mental health care for children in the United States, this article proposes as a priority for psychology a comprehensive approach that treats mental health as a primary issue in child health and welfare. Consistent with the principles of a system of care and applying epidemiological, risk-development, and intervention-research findings, this approach emphasizes 4 components: easy access to effective professional clinical services for children exhibiting disorders; further development and application of sound prevention principles for high-risk youths; support for and access to short-term intervention in primary care settings; and greater recognition and promotion of mental health issues in common developmental settings and other influential systems. Integral to this approach is the need to implement these components simultaneously and to incorporate familyfocused, culturally competent, evidence-based, and developmentally appropriate services. This comprehensive, simultaneous, and integrated approach is needed to achieve real progress in children's mental health in this country.

Incorporating Multifaceted Mental Health Prevention Services in Community Sectors-of-Care

“…With increasing awareness of children's unmet mental health needs, recent reports have called for a comprehensive primary mental health system which emphasizes integrating mental health care within systems central to child development (e.g., President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2003;Tolan & Dodge, 2005). This comprehensive approach would provide a seamless array of services, ranging from evidence-based treatments for those with formal diagnoses, to early intervention and prevention practices for those at-risk, to education and support for parents and others who have concerns about children's mental health status.…”

“…Prevention is an important component of a comprehensive approach to children's mental health but one that has yet to be fully developed (Hoagwood & Koretz, 1996;Tolan & Dodge, 2005). Prevention approaches delivered in the form of media messages, education, skills training, mentoring, and support can have significant impact in reducing risk and promoting protective processes.…”

A mental health clinic for toddlers with developmental delays and behavior problems

“…Normally, services include special education, physical, occupational and/or speech therapy, social services, and nursing. However, when considering that the current state of mental health services in this country for children in general is in crisis (Tolan & Dodge, 2005), it should come as no surprise that providing mental health services within Birth-to-Three agencies is not common. In a survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Education (2002), less than 3% of infants and toddlers enrolled in early intervention programs in 2000 received mental health services.…”

Training of evidence-based assessment and intervention approaches in cross-cultural contexts: challenges and solutions

“…Although non-MH professionals were not directly involved in providing therapy to children and families, their understanding of mental health problems in youngsters and their attitude towards the program might impede or facilitate its implementation. [8][9] There are two versions of training, namely, a shorter version for community leaders or school administrators and a full version for teachers or paraprofessionals. Once they had been trained, each sites' therapists were encouraged to use the designated sections of the manuals and materials to reach out to provide psychoeducation to schools, parents, and community leaders.…”