Comparison of Mental Treatment of children of the most 5 Industrious Nations Introduction

Mental illness is something am very familiar with. Twelve years ago I discovered just how complex misunderstood and misguided mental treatment in America really is. I entered a world unfamiliar to me that wasnt very user friendly and wasnt very read ily available. My second born daughter joy has a chemical brain disorder or as one of her many Psychiatrists have called it a chemical imbalance. I started my journey with my daughter when she was three. My daughter was born as beautiful and healthy as any child i n the maternity ward. She only seemed to cry when I would dress her otherwise she was perfect but by the time she was two it became obvious something was wrong with m y child. She was more than stubborn; she would go catatonic or scream for hours fo r absolutely no reason. By the time I convinced myself that I needed some outside help I didnt know where to start. Everyone around me was convinced my child just needed more discipline. The first person I saw was a therapist who gave me tips on discipline and stress managemen t. The second was a child psychotherapist who after 10 weeks of sessions nothing ab out my daughter improved. During one session my daughter went ballistic and had an uncontrollable rage moment and at that point the doctor recommended a psychiatri st. It was like taking a breath after holding your head underwater for so long. To h ave someone understand and actually witness the behavior firsthand was fantastic, it was like being vindicated.

I didnt know I was beginning at the beginning again. I literally went back to sta rt without passing go. At this point my daughter is fifteen and on her seventh psyc hiatrist, four trips a psychiatric facility and numerous school suspensions. I still belie ve there is an answer somewhere and am going to find it for her or die trying. I chose my topic because its not only very familiar to me but I know there are ot her families who have or will be going through the same journey and I just cant belie ve that our country here in America, the greatest country in the world, has the worst me ntal health systems. I did some research and compared the way childrens mental health is treated in the most industrious nations. United States of America Treatment of a mental illness in a child in America varies. Most therapists or d octors believe that treatment begins with the parents. Many parents or caregivers are n ot completely honest when it come to disclosure of their childs behavior. Either the y are embarrassed or believe that certain symptoms are not related to the childs illnes s. The first thing in seeking treatment is full disclosure no matter how small the parent or caretakers believe the issue is. Treatment in America is pretty much universal no matter what the illness is: The rapy and medication. Sometimes hospitalization is used for children with severe disorders who require more intense treatment. Ive researched that most parents go through the s ame issues I did. Doctors, family members, teachers and even strangers are quick to believe that mental illness doesnt happen in children and that it must be somehow the par ents

fault the child is having issues. Therapy in America varies from group, individual to family when dealing with a c hild. Medication also varies from mood stabilizers to antidepressants to antipsychotic drugs. Mental Health practitioners dont distinguish between children and adults with the exception of dosage. Children are prescribed the same medications as adults and given the same therap y Treatments. Its like the mental health system hasnt progressed enough to distingui sh Treatment specialized for children so the system adjusts its treatments that its f ound that works for adults to fit children with exception of parental involvement and I re ally believe parental involvement is nothing more than needing an adult to consent.

CANADA There are slightly different methods of treating mental illnesses in children in Canada than from the United States. Slightly. Most of the methods pertain to Canadian l aws that govern the rights of children. Canadians view mental health treatment as communi ty based . Most Laws give private citizens the right and the duty to force a parent to not only seek treatment for their child but also force a parent to medicate their child i f deemed by a mental health practitioner. The catch is mental health practitioners in Canada arent always trained to treat mental illness let alone mental illness in children. The Canadian definition of a mental health practitioner is a social worker, teacher, primary physician, ect. Ect. Basically someone not specifically trained in mental health. The practice of using electric shock is still being used not only for adults but also for children.

The idea behind the concept is that in children the brain is still developing an d electric shock could change the brain behavior patterns while its still developing. Elect ric shock is now being evaluated as being an effected method of treatment and whether it h as long term effects in children. Most common treatments mimic those of the United State s: Therapy and medication. THE PEOPLES REPUBLIC OF CHINA Sadly enough the Chinese do not view mental health as an important national issu e. As a matter of fact there are only 17,000 licensed mental health practitioners in The Peoples Republic of China who boasts a population of over a billion people. Of the 17,0 00 licenses psychiatrists none specialize in children yet the World Health Authorit y reports there are an estimated 30 million Chinese children and adolescents with mental d isorders. China views mental health treatment as a western tradition and doesnt view mental health as a Chinese issue. Mental health patients are tended too by their famili es and are treated by superstitious remedies like acupuncture or herbal medicines. Dispite the tragedies that have plagued China such as the Kindergarten school ch ildren Massacres the Chinese government views mental health as a waste of money and a f amily issue. Children suffer but not always in silence. Recent reports of children who are in need of mental health services have quadrupled in recent years but only the very wealthy can take advantage of any services offered. Needless to say, the China, althoug h a world superpower, doesnt value, respect or offer any mental health for its future citize ns. JAPAN Japan is by far the most progressive nation when it comes to mental health care

for children. Under Japans universal health care coverage, children receive more than adequate mental health services both in public and private facilities. Japan has 1274 Psychiatric day care centers to deal with young emotionally unstable children al l staffed with licensed psychiatrists, nurses and caregivers all publicly funded. Japans pr actice of giving both facility and community based services in conjunction with total w raparound home service insures that children dont slip through the cracks. Japan uses both therapy and medication to treat children but Japans ratio of medicating children verses o ther Industrialized nations ratio is much smaller. They seem to medicate children as a last resort, whether thats good or not am not sure but it seems to be working for them . Whether its the fact that they use what they term as wraparound where as they use any and all services possible is for benefit of the children. Its not that treatment is different in Japan its just more complete treatment verses the United States or Canada where o nce the child is stable they go home and more medication and therapy is prescribed u ntil the Childs next psychotic episode where then something more drastic happens. Japans Technique of prevention by not just sending the child home but to allow more fol low up services at the states expense rather than just putting all on the parents. GREAT BRITIAN Mental health coverage for children in Great Britain is lagging behind other ind ustrious nations. How Britain defines a child has a lot to do with it. Britains legal age of consent is sixteen and Britains definition of a child ends at ten years of age so anyone over the

age of ten receives mental health services the same as an adult. Most common met hods are the same as in the United States and Most industrious nations, therapy and medication, the only difference is not all can afford the services. The State co vers the child but not the adult. In order for services to be rendered the child must be declared a danger not only to him/herself but to the general population. To be declared a d anger a child must demonstrate the severity of their mental illness by either trying to commit suicide or something just as severe. Therapy and medication is prescribed to tho se who can afford it. There is a form of universal healthcare but it doesnt include ment al services especially for children. Britain doesnt seem to implicate other mental s ervice Techniques but medication and therapy. Summary It seems that most industrious nations except China have adopted the same method s of treatment, to medicate and therapy. I gave a broad view of these nations, some s tates in Canada, Japan and the US have laws that govern how to treat children with mental illness but I went with national laws and statistics that covered the nation as a whole. Doing research I discovered the US doesnt have the best or the worst mental health serv ices but we as a nation are still researching and coming up with new techniques. RESEARCH

www.mentalhealthsurveys.co.uk/chilrep.html www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1916570,00.html bjp.rcpsych.org/content/191/6/493.full Mental Health Systems Compared: Great Britain, Norway, Canada, And the United St ates R. Paul Olsen ww.japanpsychiatrist.com/Abstracts/TravelMed.pdf Mental Health Care in China: State Policies, Professional Services and Family Re sponsibilities Veronica Pearson