During the 40 weeks after receiving a brief course of ω-3 (“omega three”) polyunsaturated fatty acids, adolescents at risk for psychotic disorders were less likely to progress to psychotic status than similar peers who did not receive the supplement. In the study by G. Paul Amminger and colleagues, the youths in the treated group also had fewer positive, negative, and general symptoms of psychosis and improved overall functioning than those in the control group.
The youths in the treated group received a supplement of two fish-oil capsules twice a day for 12 weeks, and the controls received a placebo of coconut-oil capsules. The researchers then monitored their status and symptoms for the following 40 weeks.
Continue reading ‘Fish oil and adolescent psychosis’
The US Congress is considering legislation to prevent abusive restraint and seclusion of students in schools. This is a welcome consequence of the highly visible reports about terrible abuses of students’ right to be free from harm. However, as much as I support this initiative, it is important to make clear that the laws (and regulations resulting from them) must be crafted carefully.
Here’s some text from the press efforts by the US House of Representatives about this important legislation. I follow it with a cautious support of the law.
Continue reading ‘US legislators consider law for preventing abusive restraint and seclusion’
Lord Jones of Cheltenham, a member of the the UK Parliament, has formally asked “what measures are planned to improve services for (a) children with serious emotional disturbance, and (b) adults with mental health illnesses.” The request is in response to recent UK report, Keeping Children and Young People in Mind – Full Government Response to the CAMHS Review that, in turn (and as the title shows), was a response to the government-sponsored review of child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS).
Keeping Children and Young People in Mind calls for a system of universal services, targeted services, and specialist services accompanied by support for them from local and national government agencies. Get a copy of Keeping children and young people in mind: the Government’s full response to the independent review of CAMHS and visit the Web site of the UK Department of Children, Schools, and Families for more about “services supporting the emotional wellbeing and mental health of children and young people.”
See the Parliamentary records for a written version of the request by Lord Jones.
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| Twelve key children’s services for community services boards |
- specialized children’s emergency services;
- crisis stabilization;
- evaluations for Comprehensive Services Act services;
- psychiatric/medication;
- office-based mental health therapy;
- office-based substance abuse therapy;
- mental health case management;
- intellectual disabilities case management;
- substance abuse case management;
- home-based behavioral treatment and support for families;
- school-based day treatment; and
- local residential services.
|
Right here in my home commonwealth of Virginia last week, Mira Signe, Vicki Hardy-Murrell, John Morgan, and Margaret Nimmo Crowe explained why it is important that government and private organizations attend to and address issues in children’s mental health. By explaining that Virginia has inadequate services and that one in every five children or youths experience mental health problems at some time during their lives, they made the point that that there is a tremendous need for public focus on these issues. This was the kick-off event for the Campaign for Children’s Mental Health.
The Campaign for Children’s Mental Health is a 3-year sustained effort to make mental health services more available and accessible to Virginia children in need. It will strongly endorse Governor-elect McDonnell’s call for system improvements; urge the General Assembly and state and local government to work collaboratively with the administration to address system deficiencies; and conduct a high-profile three-year advocacy and education drive to build public and political support for improved mental health services for children.
Only about one in 20 of Virginia’s children have access to the key services listed in the accompanying box. So, four out of five children who need these services do not have access to them.
No, Virginia, this is not an acceptable way to treat our children. Let’s do better.
Hill Walker and colleagues reported that the First Step to Success program benefitted young children at risk for developing emotional or behavioral disorders. In a longitudinal study of the three-year program conducted in Albuquerque (NM, US), the researchers found substantial reductions in disruptive behavior and improvements in social functioning.
In a press release, Professor Walker said, “Albuquerque was the first opportunity we had to mount a large-scale study of the program using a randomized control group, the gold standard for research. First Step has been implemented widely, but not [studied] in this way.”
Continue reading ‘First Step takes off’
An individual who goes by the screen name C0nc0rdance posted a pair of videos to YouTube on 1 October 2009 that make a clear and compelling case for ignoring ill-reasoned arguments recommending that parents avoid vaccinating their children.
When we make risky decisions about our health, it’s always good to be in possession of all the facts, to let our brains, and not our hearts, make the decision. Your child is thousands of times more likely to die from a preventable disease you didn’t vaccinate them against than to develop autism from a vaccine you did give them. The case for autism and vaccines is solely based on weak correlations and emotional responses.
Continue reading ‘C0nc0rdance’s anti-vax takedown’
Writing under the headline “Pros and cons of screening teens for depression,” Brendan Borrell examined some of the issues that sometimes roar around surveying youths to identify those who are depressed or at risk for depression. Mr. Borrell’s article, which is one in a series of articles about depression appearing in the Los Angeles Times, addressed concerns such as parental reservations about testing of their children without permission, false positive identification of a high percentage of students, and the absence of adequate treatment for many who need help.
Mr. Borrell established the importance of the issue in his lead:
By the time a teenager graduates high school, about one out of nine of his or her peers has attempted suicide. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, behind car accidents and homicide, and 10% to 12% of teens ponder suicide every day.
Continue reading ‘Screening teens’
Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education, wrote to the chief officers of education for each of the states in the US on 31 July 2009 regarding the use of seclusion and restraint in schools. He expressed concern about the testimony heard recently by the Education and Labor Committee of the US House of Representatives, and recommended that states adopt Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support.
My home State of Illinois has what I believe to be one good approach, including both a strong focus upon Positive Behavior Intervention and Supports (PBIS) as well as State regulations that limit the use of seclusion and restraint under most circumstances….
Several other States have also adopted effective seclusion and/or restraint policies, but there are many jurisdictions that have not, leaving students and teachers vulnerable.
Continue reading ‘A. Duncan promotes PBIS’
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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which is a part of the US Department of Health and Human Services, maintains a Web site where users can search for and learn more about methods for preventing or treating some Emotional and Behavioral Disorders. It’s called the “National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices” (NREPP) and, for those who are concerned about employing or recommending evidence-based practices, it’s worth reviewing.
The National Registry of Evidence-based Programs and Practices (NREPP) is a searchable online registry of mental health and substance abuse interventions that have been reviewed and rated by independent reviewers.
The purpose of this registry is to assist the public in identifying approaches to preventing and treating mental and/or substance use disorders that have been scientifically tested and that can be readily disseminated to the field. NREPP is one way that SAMHSA is working to improve access to information on tested interventions and thereby reduce the lag time between the creation of scientific knowledge and its practical application in the field.
NREPP is a voluntary, self-nominating system in which intervention developers elect to participate. There will always be some interventions that are not submitted to NREPP, and not all that are submitted are reviewed. In addition, new intervention summaries are continually being added. The registry is expected to grow to a large number of interventions over the coming months and years. Please check back regularly to access the latest updates.
Although NREPP originally focused on substance abuse, its coverage is broader now. Look for resources about, for examples, Across Ages; Aggressors, Victims, and Bystanders: Thinking and Acting To Prevent Violence; Al’s Pals: Kids Making Healthy Choices; All Stars; Caring School Community; CASASTART; Children’s Summer Treatment Program (STP); Coping Cat; Creating Lasting Family Connections (CLFC)/Creating Lasting Connections (CLC); Early Risers “Skills for Success”; Families and Schools Together (FAST); Guiding Good Choices; Incredible Years; Keep A Clear Mind (KACM); Keepin’ it REAL; Lions Quest Skills for Adolescence; Multisystemic Therapy (MST) for Juvenile Offenders; Multisystemic Therapy With Psychiatric Supports (MST-Psychiatric); Positive Action; Primary Project; Project Northland; Project Towards No Tobacco Use; Project Venture; Promoting Alternative THinking Strategies (PATHS), PATHS Preschool; Protecting You/Protecting Me; Right Decisions, Right Now: Be Tobacco Free; SAFEChildren; Second Step; SMARTteam; Storytelling for Empowerment; Strengthening Families Program; Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14; Success in Stages: Build Respect, Stop Bullying; Too Good for Drugs; and Too Good for Violence;
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Summer in the US finds children and youths out of school and, perhaps, less vulnerable to some of the problems that are associated with the social and academic demands that are part of schooling. As a result, perhaps fewer of the familiar problems illustrated in this poster are apparent during summer.
If summer seems like a relief from such problems, though, that could be an important indicator that those very problems need to be addressed. A few weeks away from school probably will not cure them. Those same difficulties may still be occurring, just less obviously, and they are likely to recur soon.
Individuals or the families of children who experience the kinds of problems noted in the poster should consult the resources available from the US government’s Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. One will not find easy cures there, but by carefully perusing the resources available one can learn what signs to monitor and where to go to get help.
The image is hot. Click it to get to a good starting place.
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Even though many schools in the US have closed for the summer or are about to do so, I want to remind folks that this is not a good time to take a break from considering the mental health needs of children and youth. Although they are likely to wax and wane over time, mental health problems don’t take many vacations.
Learn more about US resources for individual children and youths who have emotional and behavioral disorders by surfing the rich resources assembled by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) of the US Department of Health and Human Services. Although some of the materials may be a tad out of date (e.g., prevalence figures have been updated for some disorders such as Autism), there are still plenty of valuable materials available from SAMHSA.
Go there! Compare what you see learn there with what’s available at other trustworthy sites. Learn what to do and from whom help is available.
Adolescents who are at risk for later episodes of major depressive disorders differ from their peers who are not at risk on multiple measures of rapid eye movement (REM) and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) activity during sleep, according to a study by Uma Rao and colleagues that appeared this fall in Neuropsychopharmacology . Early depressive episodes that occur during adolescence are strongly associated with other later problems in other areas such as interpersonal relationships, pregnancy, educational attainment, employment, and suicidal behavior; finding predictors of later problems is important for primary and secondary prevention.
Rao and colleagues compared youths at risk for major depressive disorder with peers using electroencephalographic (EEG) and HPA measures. They then followed the youths for 5 years and correlated their EEG and HPA measures with the chances of later episodes of depression. Here’s the abstract:
Continue reading ‘Sleep predictors of later depression’
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