By Robert A. Emmanuel
A specialist in internal medicine and psychiatry said there had been an increase in the number of calls she has received relating to mental health disorders in children.
Dr Chenelle Joseph spoke on Observer AM yesterday about the amount of calls she had received from parents and grandparents expressing concerns about their youngsters.
“The most common complaint I get is, they are ‘going off’ which usually means some form of psychosis—seeing things, hearing things, talking to themselves,” the doctor said, adding that substance use was noted.
She also expressed, outside of a few private practices, that there were few resources available locally for children struggling with mental health issues.
“There are some private therapists that will work with children…but if a child needs hospitalisation, there is no place for that,” she indicated.
According to the USA’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “mentally healthy children have a positive quality of life and can function well at home, in school, and in their communities”.
Dr Joseph, meanwhile, sought to encourage persons not to overwhelm themselves when dealing with mental health issues.
“The first step is to acknowledge that you are stressed; stop trying to be a superhero…it is ok to say I cannot do this or here is what I can do and I cannot do anymore. It doesn’t make you a failure, it just means that you are aware of your limitations…running yourself ragged is not the way to go,” she explained.
She also encouraged her fellow professionals to continue to uphold the importance of confidentiality for persons expressing their mental health vulnerabilities.
“A lot of people are coming to you with things that they have buried for years and so, to be that vulnerable, to protect that information and for you not to hear it from someone else hours later, maintaining that confidentiality is very important,” she added.