More Mental Health Support in Schools
The demand for more mental health support in schools have come from a very unlikely source, the police. The South Wales police want better mental health education in schools as there has been a significant rise in young people being detained under the Mental Health Act. The education is needed in order to recognise the early stages of mental health issues, before such detention becomes necessary.
I emphasise the importance of this approach. Though I am an adult psychotherapist, what I have noted with many of the people I treat is that in significant mental health issues in adults, these often have their roots in mental health issues when they are children.
I have said on numerous occasions that we are still nowhere near parity between physical and mental health. We hear so much about childhood obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and other issues which of course are important. It seems a shame to me that it is the police and not the Department of Health or Department of Education making these calls. It is long past time for mental health to be treated with the significance that it needs to be. Without this, we are destined to make the same mistakes we have made for generations with regards to mental health.
