In The Field
Emerging Minds welcomes “life changing” new children’s mental health strategy
Freya Lucas
Oct 19, 2021
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Emerging Minds has welcomed the recent launch of the Australian Government’s National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, saying it will bring “much-needed visibility to children’s mental health and will change lives for the better”.
Emerging Minds Director Brad Morgan said the strategy maps out key approaches and a commitment to meeting the needs of infants and children, who “are too often an invisible part of mental health conversation”.“The strategy will help de-stigmatise mental health and focuses on supporting and improving the wellbeing of Australian infants and children,” he said.
“Prevention and early intervention play a critical role in reducing the onset and severity of mental illness. By addressing mental health in children and infants, we can improve the mental health of all Australians in the future.”
The strategy recognises that children's mental health ranges from ‘well’, when their needs are being met and they have an opportunity to thrive, to ‘unwell’, when further support is needed. Centring on four main areas - Family and Community, the Service System, Education Settings, and Evidence and Evaluation – the strategy offers a comprehensive strengths-based, prevention focused, community-led and child-centred approach.
“It acknowledges that to truly support infant and child mental health, a multi-faceted and collaborative approach is critical, involving children, parents, carers, educators, and practitioners, as well as services, systems and the policies that govern them,” Mr Morgan said.
“Emerging Minds is pleased that the strategy looks at ways that services can better meet the needs of children and families at all stages of the mental health continuum, including service delivery, workforce capacity and the availability of timely support. We also welcome the call for a better understanding of the underlying causes of child mental health issues, as well as the need to ensure interventions are targeted and fit for purpose.”
“The strategy’s focus on destigmatising child mental health, offering hope and acknowledging that we all have a role to play in creating healthy outcomes in our children sets a strong foundation for this work going forward.”
Emerging Minds said it looks forward to supporting the implementation of the strategy in partnership with the Australian, State and Territory Governments, organisations, practitioners, researchers “and, most importantly, the infants, children and families who will benefit from this work”.
To learn more about the work of Emerging Minds, see here. The National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy may be accessed here.
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