Program helps kids with mental health issues quickly get back on track

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Children are experiencing mental health issues at a younger age and the Linck Child, Youth and Family Supports recently launched a pilot program designed to address it quickly.

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The intensive outreach program has been “driven out of need,” said Linck executive director Teri Thomas-Vanos.

The profile of youth who present with intensive mental health needs is being seen as young as six, she said.

“Before, you would think that those challenging adolescent years would be the primary population and that’s not the case anymore,” Thomas-Vanos said. “We’re seeing younger children have more complicated mental health and behavioural presentations.”

As for what is causing younger kids to experience this level of mental health issues, she said there are suspicions that “we’re truly seeing the post-COVID and post-pandemic impact on kids and families.”

Factors such as poverty, addictions, homelessness and social insecurity are contributors, she said.

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“As we see adults not doing well, we know that kids don’t exist in isolation, so when adults and caregivers aren’t doing well, children are also less inclined to do well.”

While depression and anxiety often present more quietly in a child, Thomas-Vanos said these days, more behavioural outbursts are being seen not just toward the individual, but can also be directed toward peers, adults and property.

If this is happening at school or in the community, there could be a higher need for police involvement, which leads to the justice pipeline, Thomas-Vanos said.

When there are “underlying mental health issues, we know that isn’t the route to treatment,” she added.

Referrals to the intensive outreach program can come from schools and health care providers, but Thomas-Vanos said, “We’re really open to referrals” by families.

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Service is provided in a family’s home or other location, because it’s about “really meeting families where they’re at, because that’s where the issues present,” she said.

It takes courage and vulnerability for families to let people into their home for the program, Thomas-Vanos said.

The first step is building a relationship with the family, because “you have to have that therapeutic alliance to be a good fit and be able to identify what your goals are.”

While it can feel overwhelming when you are in the middle of a crisis, she said it’s helpful to establish priorities and break them down into “baby steps; you feel you can be successful as you accomplish more and more of those goals.”

The program runs between 12 to 16 weeks on average.

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“Our goal is that we come in for a short-term period of intensive work that stabilizes the situation and gets the family back on track,” Thomas-Vanos said.

“You’re going to work really hard for a brief period to stabilize, then we’re going to transition into another service, if it’s required,” she said.

Conversely, she said the intensive outreach program might be the reset a family needs without further services. She added families can reach out if they need help again.

The new program comes as a hospital crisis program, which saw Linck provide assessment services to youth younger than 16 who came into the Chatham-Kent Health Alliance emergency department with a mental health crisis, has ended after 10 years due to stagnant funding, increased volumes and inflationary pressures, stated a media release.

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Linck said the program was very successful coordinating community supports; schools were prepared and made aware of children’s needs upon their return to school and children were linked to community services to support them longer-term.

“We are incredibly disappointed to close our hospital crisis program, as we know it has been a crucial part of our system of supports over the past 10 years” said Carol Moore, director of mental health, development and quality at Linck.

“This program has been an ideal example of the care called for in the Ontario government’s roadmap to wellness,” she said.

During a media call this week, Caen Suni, vice-president of clinical programs and operations at CKHA, said the hospital works with other providers where it can.

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He said the aim is to provide continuity on a temporary basis, stressing that clients will receive care as before.

“We’re going to be that junction point … for the next year,” Suni said. “Part of how we support youth mental health locally does have to do with the partnership among quite a few providers, including Linck and the school boards as well.

“The hope is that from a community perspective, it is occurring there and being led in (the) community,” he said.

Thomas-Vanos said the intensive outreach program is free as are all the programs offered at Linck so “cost is never a barrier.”

To learn more about this program and other services offered by the agency, call Linck at 519-352-0440 or go online to www.linck.org.

With files from Trevor Terfloth

[email protected]

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