Learn About Mental Health Problems in Children & Adolescents
Like adults, children and adolescents are not immune to mental health disorders. However, often children experience these disorders differently to adults, and there are also some problems which are unique to children. As such, treatment often needs to be different and children need to be viewed in context and helped in ways that make sense to them.
This course examines different types of mental health problems which can affect children and youth. The focus here is on disorders other than those which are known as pervasive developmental disorders (e.g. autism spectrum disorder), learning disorders (e.g. mathematics disorder) or behavioural disorders (e.g. conduct disorders and ADHD). Instead we are concerned with depression, anxiety, eating disorders, tic disorders and problems associated with brain disease or injury, environmental factors, abuse and neglect.
The course is ideally suited to students of psychology or counselling and people working in similar fields. It is also likely to be of value to teachers and other people who work with children where knowledge of mental health issues is advantageous.
Study the course to learn how to recognise the signs and symptoms of mental health problems, and develop an understanding of treatment options for these conditions.
The course is an excellent first step to developing an understanding of children's mental health. It covers a range of mental health conditions in children and adolescents including:
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Brain Disorders
- Tic Disorders
- Eating Disorders
Lesson Structure
There are 10 lessons in this course:
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Nature and Scope of Mental Health – looking at difference between adult and child and adolescent mental health. What we mean by mental health? Mental wellness etc.
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INTRODUCTION
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UNDERSTANDING NORMAL CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT
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GOOD MENTAL HEALTH
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UNDERSTANDING CHILDHOOD MENTAL ILLNESS
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PREVALENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
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DIFFERENCES TO ADULT MENTAL HEALTH
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AN INTRODUCTION TO THE MENTAL HEALTH INDUSTRY
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Childhood Depression also how this changes when reach adolescence. signs and symptoms and treatments.
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INTRODUCTION
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TYPES OF DEPRESSION IN CHILDHOOD
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DIAGNOSIS OF DEPRESSION IN CHILDREN
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CAUSES OF CHILDHOOD DEPRESSION
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ASSESSING RISK OF SUICIDE
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Anxiety Disorders - separation, generalised etc. school phobias, social phobias etc. signs/symptoms/treatment
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INTRODUCTION
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SCOPE AND NATURE OF ANXIETY DISORDERS
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DIFFERENT TYPES OF ANXIETY DISORDERS
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CHILDHOOD ANXIETY DISORDERS
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ADOLESCENT ANXIETY DISORDERS
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OTHER ANXIETY RELATED PROBLEMS
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Tic Disorders - Tourette's etc. signs/symptoms/treatment
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INTRODUCTION TO TIC DISORDERS
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TYPES OF TICS
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GILLES DE LA TOURETTE SYNDROME (TOURETTE'S DISORDER)
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TRANSIENT TIC DISORDER
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CHRONIC TIC DISORDER
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TIC DISORDER (NOS)
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Brain Disorders (Injury & Disease) signs/symptoms/treatment
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INTRODUCTION
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DIFFERENCES TO ADULTS
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TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY
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CONGENITAL MALFORMATIONS
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GENETIC DISORDERS
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TUMOURS
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INFECTIOUS DISEASES
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CEREBROVASCULAR DISEASE
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EPILEPSY
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ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS
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Other Disorders - Motor Disorders, Elimination Disorders, Feeding & Eating Disorders; signs/symptoms/treatment
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INTRODUCTION
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ELIMINATION DISORDERS
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ENCOPRESIS
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ENURESIS
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FEEDING AND EATING DISORDERS OF CHILDHOOD
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REACTIVE ATTACHMENT DISORDER
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SELECTIVE MUTISM
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STEREOTYPIC MOVEMENT DISORDER
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Environmental Problems - Abuse and Neglect, Relationship Problems signs/symptoms/treatment
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INTRODUCTION
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CHILD ABUSE
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DEFINITION OF CHILD ABUSE
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FACTITIOUS DISORDER BY PROXY
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THE EFFECTS OF ABUSE
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ATTACHMENT ISSUES
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LIFESTYLE
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Problems of Adolescence - Anorexia, Bulimia, Substance Use, Family Conflict signs/symptoms/treatment
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INTRODUCTION
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SIGNIFICANT DISORDERS OF ADOLESCENCE
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Holistic and Alternative Approaches to Treatment - this should be a general approach to dealing with children & adolescents i.e. not directed at specific conditions
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DRUG TREATMENTS
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FOOD AND MENTAL HEALTH
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ALTERNATIVE THERAPIES - homeopathy, art therapy, music therapy, counselling/psychotherapy, craniosacral/biodynamic osteopathy, kinesiology, aromatherapy, sensory integration, behavioural optometry, hearing and mental health, movement therapies.
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Special Project - student chooses something of interest
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
PREVALENCE OF MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
Everyone is an individual, and that is equally relevant to children and adolescents as it is to adults; and the state of mind that a person experiences will vary from time to time.
Some people may always appear to be happy; but sometimes this can be a façade.
Some people may always appear negative, sober or even depressed; but this may not necessarily be the case.
Outward appearances can be misleading.
It is hard to determine how many children (and adults) suffer from mental health conditions. Unfortunately, there is still some stigma attached to suffering from mental health problems, so there may be a reluctance to report conditions. For example, women are thought to report more mental health conditions than men. This can lead to a bias in the figures that we use to determine the prevalence of mental health issues in adults and children.
Another issue is that as children age and develop, they will display differences in behaviour over time. This can be due to simple changes. For example, younger children may have problems associated with feeding and sleeping. Other common problems include clinginess or separation anxiety when the parent leaves them alone. Sometimes they might display aggression, have temper tantrums, or show oppositional behaviour. All these things can occur as part of normal development.
Likewise, many children between the ages of 12 and 16 years might start to rebel against their parents, truant from school etc. This can be part of normal behaviour as a child learns the rules and the boundaries they live within. But sometimes a child may be displaying a behaviour that is the start of a mental health issue. Because of the rapid changes in childhood and adolescence, mental health conditions may not be obvious at first, which again can affect the prevalence figures.
It would seem that among the normal population of children that behavioural and emotional disorders are quite prevalent, but the prevalence of mental health disorders varies considerably in accordance with the population being tested. For instance rates are found to be higher in inner city populations than in rural communities. Also, the types of disorders found vary with the age group and different age groups may have higher rates overall. In a well-known study of school children on the Isle of White, UK, Rutter (1970a; 1976b) reported a one year prevalence rate of 20% for psychiatric disorders among children at the age of 14. Other studies have since reported rates between 15 and 20%.
Many children diagnosed with a psychiatric condition also seem to have co-morbid disorders. Co-morbidity is when a person has two or more disorders occurring together. Sometimes this might be because one disorder leads to another but it could also represent a blurring of the figures in that some patterns of behaviour occur in more than one disorder according to diagnostic criteria.
Reasons to Study This Course
Children are prone to mental health problems just as adults are. The difference is that some disorders are unique to childhood, such as separation anxiety, and others are expressed slightly differently in children e.g. symptoms of depression. The way that children cope with mental health is also often different to adults and they may not always be very good at expressing their needs. This course helps to explain how children and adolescents experience mental health problems and factors which may cause or exacerbate them.
The course is aimed at people working in, or aspiring to work in:
- Youth work
- Child and adolescent counselling
- School counselling
- Teaching
- Child psychology
- Caring roles
- Youth coaching
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