Children's Mental Health Center Research Articles

Putting empirically supported treatment into practice: Lessons learned in a children's mental health center.

Putting empirically supported treatment into practice: Lessons learned in a children's mental health center.

Subtypes of Psychopathology in Children Referred for Neuropsychological Assessment

The validity of a Personality Inventory for Children-Revised edition (PIC-R) typology was examined in a sample of 323 children aged 6–16 years. These children had been referred to a children's mental health centre for neuropsychological assessment. In study 1, K-means cluster analysis (k = 12) was applied to the PIC clinical scales in an attempt to replicate the 12 clusters identified by Gdowski, Lachar, and Kline (1985). Partial cluster replication was achieved. Examination of the obtained clusters revealed significant overlap, suggesting that fewer clusters would represent an optimal solution. In study 2, a two-stage cluster analysis yielded a seven-cluster solution consistent with several key forms of psychopathology previously reported in the literature using specific neuropsychological populations. Identified subtypes included profiles characterized as: normal, cognitive deficit, cognitive deficit with internalized psychopathology, cognitive deficit with social impairment, cognitive deficit with hyperactivity, cognitive deficit with both internalized and externalized psychopathology, and combined internalized and externalized psychopathology without a cognitive deficit component.

Tic symptoms in Tourette's syndrome reached their worst level of severity in middle childhood and then declined

Leckman JF, Zhang H, Vitale A , et al. Course of tic severity in Tourette syndrome: the first two decades. Pediatrics1998 Jul; 102 : 14 –9 [OpenUrl][1][Abstract/FREE Full Text][2] Questions...

The needs and popularization of psychotherapy in Taiwan.

A literature review, a population survey and analysis of hospital statistics were used to assess the needs and the popularity of psychotherapy in Taiwan. Three community epidemiological studies revealed very similar prevalence rates of minor mental disorders. The statistics of the Children's Mental Health Center revealed that intensive psychotherapy was not a popular treatment received by patients. The second cycle Taiwan Social Change Survey also showed a high rate of anxiety and depression in the community. It also revealed a low acceptance of psychotherapy for treatment of anxiety and depression provided by professionals. The discrepancy between the great potential needs for psychotherapy and the unpopularity of psychotherapy in practice was discussion. Methods to make psychotherapy more popular are also suggested.

Risk for court contact and predictors of an early age for a first court contact among a sample of high risk youths: A survival analysis approach

This study examined the rate of court contact and predictors of an early age for a first court contact for a sample of 203 youths who were seen at a children's mental health center, between the ages of 6 and 12 years, for conduct problem behaviours. Survival analyses revealed that the probabilities for a male and female to have court contact by age 18 were 65.9% and 32.9%, respectively. The clinician's rating of the child's likeability was a significant predictor of an early age for first court contact for males and a history of abuse was a significant predictor for females. The implications of these findings for early identification of high risk youth are discussed. (Abstract Adapted from Source: Canadian Journal of Criminology, 1998. Copyright © 1998 by the Canadian Criminal Justice Association; the University of Toronto Press) For more information on the Earlscourt Under 12 Outreach Project for Boys (ORP), see VioPro record number 4069. Ontario Canada Middle Childhood Late Childhood Child Male Child Female Child Offender Female Offender Male Offender Child Delinquency Child Behavior Child Problem Behavior Female Behavior Male Behavior Court Contact 09-00

The Establishment and Growth of a Mental Health Center

ABSTRACT This paper describes the evolution of a drug crisis intervention agency from a community outreach program into a group home and then a Children's Mental Health Centre, known as Frontenac Youth Services. Based upon the demands for accountability from supporting sources, the agency first known as the Oshawa-Whitby Crisis Intervention and Rehabilitation Centre, had to be flexible in order to survive. In times of rapid social change and funding uncertainties, residential treatment programs must be prepared to adapt their treatment skills, management practices and business beliefs, as did the Crisis Centre.

A comparison of eclectic treatment with webster-stratton's parents and children series in a children's mental health center: A randomized controlled trial

Few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of empirically supported therapy in applied settings, or typical service in such settings. In this study, parents seeking help at a children's mental health center for managing their 3- to 8-year-old children's behaviors were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: Webster-Stratton's Parents and Children Series (PACS) parenting groups (46 families), the eclectic approach to treatment typically offered at the center (46 families), or a wait-list control group (18 families). After 15 weeks, mothers in both treatments reported fewer child behavior problems than mothers on the wait list. Mothers in the PACS program reported fewer behavior problems and greater satisfaction with treatment than mothers in the eclectic treatment. These findings support the effectiveness of the PACS program, relative to typical service, for parents seeking help managing their children's behavior.

Expanding the Influence of a Single-Session Consultation Program

To adequately respond to increasing requests for service, at a time of diminishing funding, publicly funded social service agencies are turning to non-traditional programming alternatives such as single session consultations. This article describes such a program at a children's mental health centre, Madame Vanier Children's Services in London, Ontario. The description highlights both similarities with other existing programs, as well as unique features of this consultation service, including the use of the Follow-up Session and the Report of Consultation that is provided to families following their involvement in the program.

The mental health of children in foster care: a comparison with community and clinical samples.

To determine whether the psychiatric profile of children in foster care is more similar to clinical or community profiles. Caregiver and teacher ratings of DSM-III-R externalizing and internalizing symptoms were collected for 3 groups of children: children in foster care, children assessed at a children's mental health centre, and a community sample. Children in foster care approximated the numbers and types of symptoms of the clinical sample. Coming from a family on social assistance, having a parent with a criminal history, and being of the male gender were correlated with higher externalizing and internalizing symptom scores independent of group membership. Group membership accounted for less than 5% of the variance in psychiatric symptom scores. The high symptom burden of children in care is substantially attributable to their high-risk histories, and treatment should be designed with this in mind.

Treatment approaches in Lithuanian child psychiatry: Changing the attitudes

Lithuania, like most post-Communist countries, is in the exciting process of changing approaches in the field of mental health services. As a consequence of former state ideology, psychosocial aspects of mental health and mental disorders have been ignored. In this situation psychopharmacotherapy became the main and, most often, the only modality of treatment for children with mental, developmental, and emotional disorders. The situation started to change dramatically in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with new approaches in child psychiatry. As a demonstration site, Vilnius University Children's Mental Health Center was established in 1991, and in 1994 the National Child Mental Health Program was launched to coordinate development of modern community-based services with the process of training, research, and international collaboration in the field. The study showed that medication is the main method of treatment in the inpatient department of child psychiatry. Psychopharmaco-therapies have been prescrib...

A Comparison of the Demography, Clinical Profile and Treatment of Adopted and Non Adopted Children at a Children's Mental Health Centre

A retrospective analysis of adopted and non adopted children attending a children's mental health centre between 1959 and 1973 indicated a higher than expected number of males and a significantly higher number of professional fathers than expected in the adopted group. A sub-group of adopted children identified as having learning problems by reports of the parents and teachers had a different pattern of test scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children from a non adopted group, who were also selected for learning difficulties. On the parent's and clinician's ratings, the adopted group had more parent-identified hyperactivity symptoms and clinicians' diagnoses of hyperactivity. Treatment data indicated that they used more stimulant medication; this was particularly significant for the early adoptees. The early adoptees were considered to be more hyperactive by their parents than the late adoptees. The late adoptees were more impaired on psychometric testing than those placed early, before six months of age. These findings are discussed in relation to possible explanations for the higher than expected prevalence of adoptees seen in clinical populations.

The Mental Health of Portuguese Children

This study investigated the mental health of Portuguese children in Canada. Preliminary work involved a survey of professionals serving the Portuguese community and the translation and assessment of a standardized child behaviour checklist. Forty-five Portuguese children and 45 non Portuguese children referred to a children's mental health centre were compared on demographic and family indicators and their referral source. There were similar proportions of boys and girls in the two groups, similar types of services were requested, and they had similar treatment histories. The Portuguese children were older at the time of referral and were more likely to be referred by educational agencies than the non Portuguese children. Portuguese families appeared to experience different stresses than non Portuguese families. Implications of these findings for the provision of culturally sensitive interventions for Portuguese children and their families are discussed.

Risk factors and the Child Behavior Checklist in a child mental health center setting.

The relationship between risk factors and the severity and type of childhood disorder, as measured by parent-completed Child Behavior Checklists, was examined for 768 children, ages 4-16, seen at a child mental health center. Regression analyses revealed no significant relationships between any combination of risk factors and the total number of behavior problems, internalizing, or externalizing scores for the entire group, males and females separately, or for the age and sex groupings of 6- to 11- and 12- to 16-year-olds. Chi-square tests revealed no relationship of profile type with any risk factor or with total number of risk factors. Implications for broad-based child assessment and risk factor research within a clinical population are discussed.

The Effects of Prompts on Minority Children's Screening Attendance at a Community Mental Health Center

This study examined the impact of prompts upon the screening attendence rate at a children's community mental health center (CMHC) serving lower socioeconomic urban minority clients. Subjects (274 children under age 18 and their adult caretakers who contacted the CMHC for screening appointments) were assigned to one of three conditions: (a) a phone prompt one day before the appointment, (b) a letter prompt one to two days before the appointment, and (c) a no-intervention control group. Both phone and letter prompts produced significantly greater attendance than the no-intervention condition. The phone prompt group evidenced a tendency toward greater attendance than the letter prompt group. A cost analysis indicated that the phone prompt generated more net revenue than the other two conditions and had a lower total cost and per subject than the conditon. The data suggest that prompts can be effectively used by mental health facilities to engage minority clients in the intial phase of the treament process.

Overrepresentation of Adopted Children Attending a Children's Mental Health Centre

A retrospective analysis was made of case records of children attending a Children's Mental Health Centre during the years 1959 to 1973. Annual comparisons were made between the numbers of adopted children seen in the province of Ontario and within the clinic setting. The results indicated that over a fifteen year period the adopted children in the clinic were seen with twice the expected annual incidence predicted from the community rates.

To Evaluate or Not to Evaluate: That is not the Question!

Many program managers struggle with the issue of conducting program evaluations. Although few would argue against the concept of being accountable for the mental health services which they provide, many program managers seem to resist actually implementing program evaluation procedures. Some of the reasons for this resistance are discussed. Suggestions for overcoming this resistance are offered from the perspective of a program manager of a small children's mental health centre.

The public and private sector: A developing partnership in human services.

Historically, public and private providers of health and welfare services have functioned in separate, often incompatible, arenas. Drawing from the experience of a private child mental health center, the authors suggest that a more coordinated and collaborative approach would benefit both the public and private sectors, as well as their client populations.

A clinical decision-making model for child psychiatric intervention selection.

This paper describes a four-component procedure of clinical decision-making, developed by a group of senior child clinicians in an urban child mental health center. The major goal of the paper is to give readers a basic understanding of the theory underlying the formulation of our disposition-oriented clinical decision-making system, that can be eventually translated into questionnaire format, and made useful and usable in general clinical application. The four-component procedure is described in a step-wise fashion and then linked to clinical dispositional options to be chosen from the clinical services available in a clinic. A child mental health data system will ultimately be developed.

The children's community mental health center emerges

The children's community mental health center emerges

Implications for the child guidance clinic of current trends in mental health planning.

The pressure of the waiting list and the lack of resources have produced a state of emergency for the child guidance clinic. We have seen the development of 57 varieties of the traditional model without developing any clarity on why each previous model was not workable. To resolve underlying problems, this paper presents a “model” of a child mental health center.