MENTAL HYGIENE SERVICES

Abstract

THERE is an increasing awareness in both professional and lay circles that community health services for infants and children should include consideration of mental hygiene principles along with those of physical care and treatment. There seem to be two main avenues open in the development of mental hygiene resources: (1) Through the development of child guidance or mental hygiene clinics which deal diagnostically and therapeutically with children and parents presenting problems due to emotional difficulties; (2) through educational opportunities within existing child care services. For example, prenatal clinics, child health conferences, day-care centers, nursery, elementary, and secondary schools, and others all offer opportunities to integrate consideration of emotional problems with the physical aspects of child care. Areas of Need Treatment Facilities The Study has shown that there is a definite lack of psychiatric services which offer parents and children help and treatment for emotional and behavior problems. Although the Public Health Service of the Federal Security Agency as well as private foundations have been helping the child guidance movement to spread considerably in the past years, the number of clinics is still far too small. A glance at the long "waiting list" of many of those now functioning indicates the great need. Preventive Aspects The need for treatment services is immediate and will unquestionably continue for a long time. However, the long-range solution to the problem of emotional ill health lies in finding out more about the causes of psychologic disturbances so that more effective preventive measures can be discovered and applied.