RESOURCES: About Children's Mental Health
About Children's Mental Health
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health: Like adults, children and adolescents can have mental health disorders that interfere with the way they think, feel, and act. Mental health influences the ways individuals look at themselves, their lives, and others in their lives. Like physical health, mental health is important at every stage of life.
- Children's Mental Health: Key Facts and Figures (National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare)
- Download "A Parent’s Guide to Obtaining Mental Health Services for Children in Michigan"(PDF).
- MindZone, a web site for teens on mental health related concerns.
- The American Psychological Association (APA) has publications to help young people. Check our their article, “Controlling Anger--Before It Controls You”. The article tells youth, “Anger is a completely normal, usually healthy, human emotion. But when it gets out of control and turns destructive, it can lead to problems—problems at work, in your personal relationships, and in the overall quality of your life. And it can make you feel as though you're at the mercy of an unpredictable and powerful emotion.” The four major topics covered in the article follow:
- What Is Anger?
- Anger Management
- Strategies To Keep Anger At Bay
- Do You Need Counseling?
- Access this article.
- Another APA article, “Warning Signs Of Youth Violence," discusses ways young people can recognize the signs that often precede youth violence in themselves and others. According to the author, “One in 12 high schoolers is threatened or injured with a weapon each year. If you're between the ages of 12 and 24, you face the highest risk of being the victim of violence.” The article is divided into the following sections:
- Reasons for Violence
- Recognizing Violence Warning Signs In Others
- If Someone You Know Shows Violence Warning Signs
- Dealing With Anger
- Are You At Risk For Violent Behavior?
- Controlling Your Own Risk For Violent Behavior
- Violence Against Self
- Read this article.
- Information about programs to assist transition-age youth with serious emotional disturbances: The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law has produced “Moving On,” a fact-sheet collection that identifies and describes “myriad federal programs [that] can address the wide range of needs of youth with serious mental health conditions who are transitioning into adulthood.” Each [fact sheet] offers information about the program’s purpose, services and funded activities, the administering federal agency, grantee and beneficiary eligibility, and a brief assessment of the program’s impact. Topics include:
- Mental Health Programs
- Substance Abuse Programs
- Basic Supports
- School-Based Programs Addressing Transition Issues
- Higher Education
- Independent Living
- Housing
- Family Planning and Parenting Assistance
- Social Services
- Youth Involved With or At Risk of Involvement in Juvenile Justice
- To view this information, visit http://www.bazelon.org/publications/movingon/.
- The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is one of 27 components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Federal government's principal biomedical and behavioral research agency. NIH is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Visit their website.
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ACMH is a partner in the Learning Disabilities Association of Michigan's Healthy Children's Project. The purpose of the Healthy Children Project is to bridge the gap between our knowledge of environmental factors that impact developing fetuses, the newborn or young children and the actions we are taking to minimize or eliminate those factors. Their website offers information about toxic substances in the environment and how they might affect our children’s health. Visit http://www.healthychildrenproject.org/ for more information.
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Fact Sheet on Lead Poisoning and Cognitive Deficits and Mental Illness in Childrenby Michelle Naylor, Behavioral Health Sciences, Sydney University (Fact Sheet created October 21, 2005)
