We can’t protect our children from everything. When they are dealt a blow in their life or have to deal with a stressor like Hurricane Ike, they could go through periods of shock, develop physical complaints and become angry, sad and/or scared.
Many children with these problems and their families do not receive all of the services they need and often these issues are left untreated.
Reasons for this are unclear. For many it is due to lack of access (no insurance or lack of support resources in the community) and for others it is due to a lack of knowledge concerning: “where can I get help for my child,” “what does post traumatic stress look like” or “what does depression/anxiety look like.”
Perhaps the single most important factor in intervention is education. To promote prevention and to raise the level of early intervention/ prevention-aimed services you need four things:
• Public awareness. Most Galveston residents probably don’t know that children do suffer from depression.
Depression is a major public health problem that can interfere with children meeting normal developmental milestones and is likely to recur as an adult if not treated properly.
Depression in youth is associated with poor social functioning and school performance.
And, finally, untreated depression can lead to suicide — the third leading cause of death for our youth. While all of these are dire consequences, the good news is, depression and other mental health issues are highly treatable.
• Teaching recognition of warning signs. It is important for children, adolescents and their parents to know the warning signs in themselves and to recognize them in others.
Last year, with the help of grant funds from the UTMB President’s Cabinet, we did an outreach program in Ball High School that provided outreach, education and screening for every Ball High student.
However, it is just as important, maybe more so that parents, teachers and administrators of our school system be trained concerning these warning signs as well.
This is important so that they can be the first line of intervention. Every child needs at least one adult person in their life that is a touchpoint, a life preserver, a promoter of resilience.
• Cultural and age sensitivity. Children and adolescents not only need access to care, but also need a system of care that involves the families in a re-education of what “mental health service provision” means, including individualized, strengths-based service planning, intensive care management, partnerships with families and cultural and linguistic competence.
A system of care that acknowledges and incorporates — at all levels — the importance of culture, the assessment of cross-cultural relations, vigilance toward the dynamics that result from cultural differences, the expansion of cultural knowledge, and the adaptation of services to meet culturally unique needs.
All critical aspects to affect changes in long standing beliefs and attitudes and to maintain engagement in care.
• Building an action plan. Too many times we hear from a parent, teacher or best friend, “I saw behaviors that concerned me, but I never took action.”
It is important to build a system of care in our community that intervenes on three levels;
• Overall education, outreach and knowledge about mental health and the community services available;
• Targeted outreach and programs that focus on specific concerns and with specific groups; and
• Provision of treatment services available in the community aimed at clearly identified individuals and families in need of care.
Thanks to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Local Initiative Funding Partners program and our local philanthropic partners (Harris and Eliza Kempner Fund, Mary Moody Northen Endowment, Rockwell Fund, Permanent Endowment Fund of Moody Memorial First United Methodist Church, Dr. Leon Bromberg Charitable Trust Fund, Jamail Galveston Foundation, and the Moody Foundation) for the last two years, UTMB, the Teen Health Center and the Galveston Independent School District have aimed to reach these youth who have, or are at risk of having social or behavioral health problems through the Telemedicine for School-based Mental Health program.
This program provides screening, assessment and treatment for mental health issues free of charge. All children grow and develop physically, mentally, emotionally and socially. They also experience life’s ups and downs.
But, sometimes, if they are faced with a trauma in their life, they may have stress and feelings that are not easy for them to deal with on their own.
Parents of children who attend Galveston schools can call and make an appointment if the children have a social or emotional issue that needs to be treated or they have experienced any of the following:
• Have unexplained feelings of sadness or loneliness;
• Don’t seem to care about favorite activities or are “too tired to play;”
• Feel angry or are hostile toward people or surroundings;
• Have a change in sleeping patterns;
• Act younger than their age or have difficulty sitting still or concentrating;
• Have run away from home;
• Recent large weight loss or gain;
• Poor academic performance;
• Complaints of headaches, stomachaches, or other sicknesses;
• Have consistent worries or fears that “bad things will happen;” and
• Have been talking about death or suicide.
Parents, educators/youth workers and students need to know what resources are available to help with children in times of need and need to know how to use these resources.
Not talking about the problems will not make them go away nor will it save those who are currently suffering or in danger.
Feel free to contact us at the Teen Health Center, 409-766-5713 or 409-771-6339.
Dr. John F. Thomas is a researcher and clinician at UTMB in Galveston with the Office of Health Policy and Legislative Affairs and the Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health. He can be reached at jofthoma(at)utmb.edu.
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