Early intervention in mental health
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The importance of early intervention in mental health

The importance of early intervention in mental health is something we focus on in our brand-new podcast with Dr Zoe Burgess. Around one in eight young people aged five to 19 experience a mental health challenge so it is crucial that early intervention is prioritised in young people.

Mental health, much like physical health, will affect nearly everyone at some point in their lives. However, the stigma surrounding mental health means that it is sometimes not spoken about as openly as it should be.

This is especially true in children and young people. As children are growing up there are so many  stress factors  and changes that happen  which can be extremely daunting. This is why it is so important to intervene early to try and manage a healthy approach to promote good mental health before they reach adulthood.

According to the Mental Health Foundation, early interventions and home treatment for mental health challenges can reduce hospital admissions and shorten hospital stays.

 

What can I do?

Establishing an open line of communication is really important.

If you’re a parent who’s worried about their child, being open and honest yourself (while of course being sensitive to how much information you share), can show your child that it’s ok to talk about emotions and feelings.

This doesn’t have to be a sit-down conversation. You could do this through play or ask them to draw a picture about how they’re feeling.

If you remain concerned there is always the option to take your child to a GP; who will be able to help point you in the right direction for local support.

 

What we’re doing

The Charlie Watkins Foundation supports vital projects which give support to young people to help them to have good mental health. In particular, to those who are experiencing change and stressful events in their lives which, if not helped earlier, can result in a number of serious issues that can lead to having poor mental health in the future.

One example is our work with the Youth Enquiry Service (YES) to  fund a school navigator/counsellor role (Keran), who is currently working in ten schools across Essex. Keran has helped more than 104 students in the last four months by being there to provide face-to-face support and a listening ear.

If you’d like to help support projects like these, please consider becoming one of our Champions and raising money for CWF.

If you’re a business, you might want to consider becoming a mutual benefit corporate partnership.

Or if you’d simply like to kindly leave a donation, you can do so via our JustGiving page.

 

We would be so grateful to any support are able to give, thank you.

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