Introduction to Mental Disorders Common Mental Health Problems Affecting Children and Youth 1

Introductions Find a partner Each person ‘interview’ their partner Find out 2 to 3 things about the other person That means you will share 2 to 3 things about yourself Seek information about the other’s current work situation as well as one non-work related item Each person will introduce their partner to the group 2

Learning Outcomes To describe the prevalence and categories of the most common child and youth mental health and addictions problems To describe the characteristics of the most common child and youth mental health and addictions problems To understand the stigma that is associated with mental health and addictions problems in schools and steps that can be taken to address it To examine effective practices for supporting students affected by mental health and addictions problems 3

Know-Wonder-Learn KNOW  what you know about mental health disorders  some mental health disorders students in schools present with WONDER  any questions you have concerning mental health disorders that you hope to have answered LEARN  to be completed at the end of today’s session 4

Brainstorm Activity On the Post-It-Notes provided, write as many responses as possible to the following: What comes to mind when you think of the terms mental illness or mental disorder? This is a brainstorming activity and so there are no right or wrong answers 5

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Pre-Test true or false True True - mental disorders tend to be hereditary. E.g. one in ten people will experience depression compared to one in four for those whose parent has experienced the disorder 7 Mental Disorders may affect between 15 and 20 percent of Canadians A student with one or both parents diagnosed with a mental disorder is more likely to develop one him/herself

Pre-Test true or false True - there may be no previous indicators that a student will develop depression or any other number of disorders True - no one course of treatment works for all students False – although heredity can play a factor in developing a disorder, you cannot catch one 8 Many clinical depressions that develop in adolescents come ‘out of the blue’ Useful interventions for child and youth mental disorders include both psychological and pharmacologic treatment Mental Disorders are contagious

Pre-Test true or false False - a depressed mood that lasts longer than two weeks is of concern and should be assessed by a MH professional False - these are normal stresses that adolescents deal with. A much more significant indicator is depression False - suicide rates have actually declined in response to increased awareness 9 A depressed mood that lasts for a month or longer in an adolescent is not uncommon and should not be confused with clinical depression Three of the strongest risk factors for teen suicide are: romantic break-up, conflict with parents and school failure Teen suicide rates have increased over the past decade

Pre-Test true or false True - this is especially the case for students dealing with anxiety or depression False - eating disorders affect 2 to 3 percent of the population and up to 5 percent of adolescent girls whereas anxiety can affect up to 10 to 12 percent of the same group 10 Substance abuse is commonly found together with a mental disorder The most common mental disorder in adolescent girls are eating disorders

Pre-Test true or false True & False – alcohol and other drug use can play a role in the development of some symptoms and disorders but do not usually cause the illness. Drug-induced psychosis, however, has many of the same symptoms that an organic disorder would have. Many young people use drugs and alcohol to cope with a disorder, often making their symptoms worse 11 Drug use causes mental disorders

Pre-Test true or false False – people with a mental disorder often behave very differently from those who do not. However, people with a mental disorder are no more violent than the rest of the population False – income is not a factor in the development of mental disorders (although depression is more common with lower income individuals) Because of a mental disorder, some individuals end up in poverty 12 People with mental disorders tend to be violent Poverty is a significant contributor to mental disorders

What We Know About Mental Health Problems: Children and Youth can experience a wide range of disturbances to emotion, thinking and/or behaviour These problems may place students at risk of developing a clinical mental health disorder May occur spontaneously Severe (problematic to the student and others) Lead to functional impairment (interpersonal and social) Prolonged Often require professional intervention Derive from brain dysfunctions (brain disorders) Are rarely, if ever, caused by stress alone 13

Mental Health Problems are NOT: The consequence of poor parenting or bad behaviour The result of personal weakness or deficits in character The result of demonic possession Caused by nutritional factors (except in exceptional cases) Caused by poverty 14

How the Brain is Involved The brain is made up of cells, synaptic connections between these cells and the neurochemicals that are produced within the cells Different parts of the brain are responsible for different tasks (e.g. speech, vision, movement, etc.) 15

How the Brain is Involved Most tasks completed by the brain require different parts of the brain to work together as a neural network Neurochemicals provide a means for the different parts of the brain to communicate with itself and with the rest of the body 16

When the Brain is Not Working Properly 17 Specific parts of the brain that work on specific tasks are either not working properly or in the wrong way The neurochemical messages that assist the different parts of the brain to communicate may be affected One or more basic brain function will be disturbed

When the Brain is Not Working Properly 18 Disturbed functions that a person directly experiences (sadness, sleep problems, etc.) are called SYMPTOMS Disturbed functions that an observer can see (over activity, withdrawal, etc.) are called SIGNS Symptoms and signs are indicators of the disruption to the student’s usual life or degree of functioning

Brain Function Mental health problems are associated with a disturbance in one or more of the primary domains of brain function When this occurs and a person experiences problems that interfere with his/her life in a significant way, they may have a mental disorder Note: the terms mental disorder and mental illness mean the same thing 19

However … Not all disturbances of brain functioning result in mental health problems Some disturbances can be a normal or typical response to a life occurrence or reaction to the environment For example:  Grief over the death of a family member  Worry over losing one’s job  Result of a sleep problem  Reaction to a natural disaster 20

What’s the Difference? MENTAL DISORDER  less common  may happen in absence of stress  often has high severity  usually long in duration  professional help usually needed  diagnosis required  usually responds to appropriate supports and positive lifestyle changes MENTAL DISTRESS  common  caused by problem or event  usually not severe  usually short in duration  professional help not usually required  no diagnosis  usually responds to support and positive lifestyle changes 21

Health – Disorder Continuum 22 University of Michigan Health & Well-Being Services 2012

What Causes a Mental Disorder? How do we know what causes any illness? What is it about mental disorders that makes the cause of the illness difficult for us to understand? 23

What Causes a Mental Disorder? A number of different factors can lead to a mental illness These factors can happen independently of each other or can interact Basically there are two major factors: 1Genetics/Biology  genetic influences  the brain’s early development  chemical imbalances  brain trauma 24

What Causes a Mental Disorder? 2Environment ( Characteristics related to the child, his/her family and parents and contextual influences such as the neigbourhood):  Cognitive and psychological disturbances  Prenatal and/or postnatal challenges  Severe life stress  Problematic relations with peers  Conflicts within the family  Alcohol or drug use  A family history of mental illness 25

What Causes a Mental Disorder? Regardless of the trigger, mental health problems are usually sustained by a variety of environmental factors that influence the way the illness presents itself:  early experiences  stresses closer in time to the onset of the problem  age  gender  stage of development 26

Categories of Mental Disorders 27 Child and youth mental health problems can be classified into two broad categories: 1Internalizing problems  withdrawal  anxiety  fearfulness  depressed moods

Categories of Mental Disorders 28 2Externalizing problems  aggression  defiance  destructive behaviour