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Child and Youth Mental Health
CPS Mental Health Task Force
- Dr. Daphne Korczak, Chair
- Dr. Wilma Arruda
- Dr. Stacey Bélanger
- Dr. Janice Cohen, Canadian Psychological Association
- Dr. Sophia Hrycko, Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- Dr. Anne Kawamura
- Dr. Margo Lane
- Dr. Maria Patriquin, College of Family Physicians of Canada
Twenty per cent of Canadian children and youth will experience mental illness. Child and youth health professionals play a vital role in promoting their patients’ mental health and providing appropriate and timely care when needed.
The Canadian Paediatric Society is working to improve the ability of paediatricians and family physicians to address child and youth mental health by:
- increasing clinician access to evidence-based information,
- improving collaboration among mental health service providers, and
- enhancing continuing education and residency training.
Clinical guidance for health professionals
- Mental health screening tools and rating scales: A list of screening tools and rating scales—vetted by our Mental Health Task Force—for a number of different mental health symptoms and suspected conditions.
- Promoting optimal mental health outcomes for children and youth (CPS position statement)
- Position statements and practice points from the Adolescent Health Committee and the Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committee
Education for health professionals
- Mental health article collection: Papers curated from Paediatrics & Child Health and the Journal of Pediatric Psychology.
Advocacy
- Child and youth mental health policy brief (April 2022)
- Isolation, parental stress, and young children: The urgent need to improve social connectedness: Issue brief, June 2021
- COVID-19 and early childhood mental health: Fostering systems change and resilience: Policy brief from Mental Health Commission of Canada, 2021
- The impact of COVID-19 on early childhood mental health: Webinar from the Mental Health Commission of Canada and the CPS, October 2021
Information for parents and caregivers
Caring for Kids parent handouts
- Anxiety and anxiety disorders
- Your child’s mental health
- How to foster your child’s self-esteem
- Attachment: A connection for life
- Helping children and teens cope with stressful public events
- Using SSRIs to treat depression and anxiety in children and youth
- Depression in pregnant women and mothers: How it affects you and your child
Mental health video series (Caring for Kids)
Promoting positive mental health
Building your child's self-esteem
Partners
Many of our mental health initiatives include the collaboration of the following organizations. We are grateful for their involvement.
Last updated: May 4, 2023