Rising Mental Health Concerns in Children and Young People: The Role of Trauma
Jan 20, 2023
Following on from my video last week when I was talking about the very concerning increase in the number of children and young people with mental health problems, I wanted to continue this mini-series on the subject by beginning to explore possible reasons for this.
Mental health is very complex and multifaceted, and the causes of mental health problems will vary from child to child.
But, as I said last week, trauma is one of a number of possible contributing factors to the development of mental health problems in children and young people, so it feels like a good place to start.
So this week's video is all about trauma - or Adverse Childhood Experiences, (ACE's) that they are sometimes called. We know that traumatic experiences can have a significant negative impact and lead to issues such as depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
It's difficult to make a definive statement about whether traumatic experiences are rising in the child and adolescent population (and say this is why mental health problems are increasing) without lots of very specific information about the population in question, the types of trauma they may have experienced and what, if any, protective factors were available to those children. Also, we know that some children are more resilient to the effects of trauma than others.
Nevertheless, it's important to consider all the traumatic experiences that can impact a child's health. Perhaps your child has been affected by one or more of the ACE's mentioned in the video?
I hope you find it helpful and, as always, please share it with anyone who you think might benefit from it.
In next week's video I will continue exploring possible causes of the deterioration in children and young people's mental health over recent years. If you have any thoughts on the subject do reach out to me, it's always lovely to hear from you.
Warmest wishes
Frances x
