Mental health is defined as ‘not being present when psychological distress or maladaptive behavior is appropriate given a child’s age’ by The Health Advisory Service Report (HAS Report, 1995, Cited in Dogra, Parkin, Gale and Frake, 2008). This definition offers a fundamental basis to consider the source of a child’s mental health. In addition, The World Health Organisation (WHO) (2001, Cited in Dogra et al.) mentioned that mental health is a key component of health through which individuals are able recognise their own abilities. Mental disorders can affect mental health in numerous ways and are able to prevent or even reduce the likelihood of accomplishing any goals such as coping with the stresses of life. Biological, psychological and environmental …show more content…
Mindfulness is used as a therapy to treat many problems related to mental health such as stress, anxiety or even eating disorders (Hooker and Fodor, 2008). In addition majority of techniques used in mindfulness originate from Buddhist traditions (Rosenberg, 1998, Cited in Thompson and Gauntlett-Gilbert, 2008). Professionals working with children in mental health settings may find mindfulness applicable. The different techniques used in these types of settings teach self-awareness, increased impulse control and decreased emotional reactivity to difficult events (Thompson and Gauntlett-Gilbert). Research conducted on adults has shown that these effects can be obtained in the long term which suggests that mindfulness can be applied to children who are going through developmental challenges and have still yet to encounter …show more content…
Kendall and Choudhury (2003, Cited in Sofronoff, Attwood and Hinton, 2005) emphasised the significance of parent involvement when using CBT with children. Mendlowitz et al. (1999, Cited in Sofronoff et al.) discovered that by implementing a therapy session which allows parents to be involved, could eventually show development to the child’s condition and an increased use of adaptive coping strategy in the child. This proposes that by permitting parents to attend therapy sessions plays a vital role, in terms of effectively treating children’s anxiety disorders. Howard and Kendall (1996, Cited in Barrett, Duffy, Dadds and Rapee) found that implementing a family based CBT program resulted in major improvements at the end of the treatment. When Barrett, Dadds and Rapee (1996) compared child only CBT and child CBT plus family anxiety management training, it was found that both conditions indicated major improvement. The improvements made after treatment were generally maintained over a period of 5-7 years, therefore validating the results of the study. This draws attention to the effectiveness of CBT in long-term. Even though the improvements are only exhibited when therapy sessions are kept continuous and consistent over time, therapies do not provide a permanent cure for mental disorders or illnesses but is just
Mental health is an important part of the overall health well-being for children. Childhood mental health disorder can affect children and their families causing a long-term impact on the parents and other family members as well as the child themselves. Mental disorders are described as chronic health conditions. These are disorders that can go on for a long period of time, that may continue throughout the lifespan. Without early diagnosis and treatment, children with mental disorders can have problems at home and in school. These problems can continue into adulthood for the child and cause other healthy development and delays.
I think we should really value the mental health of our children in the society if we want to develop this great Nation. The psychological well-being of our children affects us both directly and indirectly whether we accept this fact or not. It is very important that we ensure that our beloved children have the capabilities to adapt to the stresses, working productively both in school and also contribute to the developments in the community. Problems associated with mental illness or health are very common in this society especially in the institutions of learning be it high schools, colleges or even universities. Some health problems associated with mental health include depressions, bipolar disorders, anxiety disorders and at time schizophrenia. It is therefore of vital importance to encourage and promote the improvement of mental health among our children.
Patel, V., Flisher, A. J., Hetrick, S., & McGorry, P. (2007). Mental health of young people: a
Davis, D.M., & Hayea J.A. (2011). What are the benefits of mindfulness? A practice review of psychotherapy-related research. Psychotherapy, 48, pp. 198-208.
Mental health is being aware, accepting yourself, and striking a balance in all aspects of your life like social, spiritual, physical, economical, and mental (Association, 2001). Mental health can be described as our positive interactions with the context and events in our life, and having the ability to cope with life’s stressors. Mental health problems can begin at anytime during your life (CAMH, 2010). In fact anything can make it difficult for an individual’s ability to interact effectively, and may lead into a mental health problem (Association, 2001).
In general, mental health has been defined as multifaceted based on six dimensions behavioral, cognitive, socio-political, effective, spiritual and psychological. In addition, mental health comprise of spiritual and emotional resilience that help an individual to continue surviving after sadness, disappointments and pains have occurred(Thomas, 2016). However, mental illness in refers to a mental health problem that involves the changes in
Mental Health is a controversial topic among many ethnic and cultural groups all over the world. Some choose to ignore it altogether, leave it alone or consider it taboo, whereas others choose to make it important to focus on in their communities or families, since it is very important towards the growth of the body and self. It is up to the individual, regardless, to get help and assistance for any of their problems if they prevail and affect your everyday life. Self-esteem, anger, depression and stress are all very real things that we experience every day within our lives, or that we have all experienced ourselves at one point of time. To those who do not have any mental health problems or choose to ignore
Children are a crucial part of society. They participate in almost all aspects of a society whether it is in schools, community activities, or in the workforce. However, not all children develop the same skills and are granted the same opportunities as others because of a mental illness. Mental illnesses are as serious as physical illnesses and they negatively affect a child’s life. There are a variety of mental illnesses children may have with different levels of severity; mental illnesses hinder childhood development, and they affect a child’s social and home life.
Mental health can be described as not having any mental illness. World health organization describes the state of mental health as the condition in which an individual understands his or her own capacities, he or she can withstand the normal stresses of life, can work beneficially and productively, and can make a commitment to his or her group. Mental disorders can affect anyone regardless of their age, their background or ethnic group. Examples of mental disorders include anxiety, stress and mood disorder.
Mental health can be seen as a continuum where illnesses are defined as patterns of behaviour that cause psychological suffering, distress and disability preventing adequate functioning with the potential of risk of harm to the self or others (Martins-Mourao, 2010, p. 92).
Rawlett and Scrandis (2015) states that there is a relationship between at-risk health behaviors and levels of academic achievement. Mindfulness awareness in the school systems, allow for an upward movement in student motivation, academic improvement, and interpersonal relationships. In addition, students are learning how to cope successfully through challenging academic transitions (Rawlett & Scrandis, 2015). While promoting mental health, well-being, and academic success in schools, mindfulness has been recognized as a likely approach for improving attention for the development of inhibition and self-regulation in adolescents (Zylowska et al., 2008). Furthermore, there is improvement for teachers in teaching self-efficacy and physical health after mindfulness training (Poulin, 2009). Mindfully teaching encourages teachers to utilize mindfulness skills and knowledge into their day to day lives, inside and outside the classroom (Meikeljohn et al., 2012). Our teachers, with the help of mindfulness based practices are becoming better equip to deal with at-risk students improve their social and emotional
Mental illness is the condition that significantly impede with an individual’s emotional, cognitive or social abilities (Savy and Sawyer, 2009). According to (Savy and Sawyer, 2009) neurological, metabolic, genetic and psychological causes are contributing factors for various types of mental illness like depression, schizophrenia, substance abuse and progression of condition. An elaborate system known as DSM-IV-TR gives a classification system that acts to separate mental illness into diagnostic categories based on the description of symptoms of illness (Savy and Sawyer, 2009). The exact primarily causes of mental illness are complicated, however, it seems to occur in a psychologically and biologically prone individual, in the trigger of environmental and social stress (Elder, Evans and Nizette, 2007).
Living in the present allows me to live and tend to my thoughts and emotions that I often suppress or ignore. Working as a school counselor, I think that I will use mindfulness to help students with anxiety, behavior problems, and depression. I hope to use mindfulness in the future as I teach students how to use mindfulness in their own lives so that they can exist in the present and connect their mind with their body. Through using mindfulness in sessions with students and possibly in the classroom setting, I will give them a tool to help manage and become more self-aware of the thoughts and emotions they experience so they can learn how to better tend, express and manage them. However, without practicing mindfulness myself I would not have understood its power in the work of my client’s
Mental health means much more than the absence of mental illness. When we talk about happiness, peace of mind, joy or satisfaction, we actually mean mental health. Mental health is a part of our life, it means how people understand family, school, work, play, a community with their peers.
As of the moment, mental disorders constitute four of the 10 leading causes of disability in the world, and mental and behavioral disorders account for 12% of the global burden of disease, yet the mental health budgets of the majority of countries constitute less than 1% of their total health expenditures. (WHO, 2001)