An introduction to the mental health needs of Looked After Young People. YoungMinds supports and informs professionals who work with children or young people, whether through paid employment or voluntary work. We are the UK’s leading provider of training on children’s mental health and wellbeing. Find out more here: http://www.youngminds.org.uk/training_services

1. Introduction to the mental health
needs of Looked After Young People
Roger Catchpole
Charlotte Levene

2. Mental health: A definition
‘the strength and capacity of our minds to
grow and develop, to be able to overcome
difficulties and challenges and to make the
most of our abilities and opportunities’
YoungMinds 2006

3. Child Mental Health
• A capacity to enter into, and sustain, mutually satisfying
and sustaining personal relationships
• Continuing progression of psychological development
• An ability to play and to learn so that attainments are
appropriate for age and intellectual level
• A developing moral sense of right and wrong
• A degree of psychological distress and maladaptive
behaviour within normal limits for the child’s age and
context

4. Problems & Disorders
Mental health problem
A disturbance of function in one area of; relationships,
mood, behaviour or development, of sufficient
severity to require professional intervention.
Mental disorder
A severe problem (commonly persistent) or the co-
occurrence of a number of problems, usually in the
presence of several risk factors

5. A bio-psycho-social model
NATURE (what we are born with)
NURTURE (what we
EVENTS grow up with)
(what happens to us)

6. Prevalence among children Mental or
aged 5 – 15 in the UK psychiatric
disorder
Risk factors
Mental health 1.5
but no obvious
problems million 30,000 or
problems now
3 million or or 10% 0.2%
20%
Severe disorder or
mental illness

7. What are risk factors?
Conditions, events or circumstances that are
known to be associated with emotional or
behavioural disorders and may increase the
likelihood of such difficulties
• Risk is cumulative
• Risk is not causal but can predispose children to
mental health problems

8. Predisposing factors - child
• Genetic influences
• Low IQ and learning disability
• Specific developmental delay
• Communication difficulty
• Difficult temperament
• Physical illness, especially if chronic and/or
neurological
• Academic failure
• Low self-esteem

9. Predisposing factors - family
• Overt parental conflict
• Family breakdown
• Inconsistent or unclear discipline
• Hostile and rejecting relationships
• Failure to adapt to child's changing developmental needs
• Abuse - physical, sexual and/or emotional
• Parental criminality, alcoholism & personality disorder
• Parental psychiatric illness
• Death & loss - including loss of friendships

10. Predisposing factors - environment
• Socio-economic disadvantage
• Homelessness
• Disaster
• Discrimination
• Other significant life events

11. resilience
• Normal development under difficult circumstances (M
Rutter)
• The human capacity to face, overcome and ultimately be
strengthened and even transformed by life’s adversities
and challenges ..a complex relationship of psychological
inner strengths and environmental social supports (O.S.
Masten)
• Bouncebackability (I Dowie)

12. Finding Resilience in Me
Think of a time in your life when you have
struggled to cope with emotional difficulties
• What did you think?
• How did you feel?
• What actions did you take?

13. Finding Resilience in me
• Talk to family or friends • Peer support
• Sleep • Positive feedback
• Eat • Retail therapy
• Walk away, take time out • Chocolate
• Counselling • Self expression
• Educate self about situation • Diary writing
• Laugh • Spend time with animals
• Throw self into new stuff • Take time for yourself
• Seek company – or solitude • Spirituality
• Realise you have choices • Exercise
• Use own skills positively • Focus on work
• Relate to past experience • Meditation
• Break into manageable bits • Medication

14. Resilience in the child
• being female
• secure attachment experience
• an outgoing temperament as an infant
• good communication skills, sociability
• planner, belief in control
• humour
• problem solving skills, positive attitude
• experience of success and achievement
• religious faith
• capacity to reflect

15. Resilience in families
• At least one good parent-child relationship
• Affection
• Clear, firm consistent discipline
• Support for education
• Supportive long term relationship/absence of
severe discord

16. Resilience in communities
• Wide supportive network
• Good housing
• High standard of living
• High morale school with positive policies for
behaviour, attitudes and anti-bullying
• Schools with strong academic and non-academic
opportunities
• Range of sport/leisure activities
• Anti-discriminatory practice

17. 7 ‘learnable’ skills of resilience
Emotional awareness or regulation Ability to identify what you are feeling and manage
feelings appropriately
Impulse control Ability to tolerate ambiguity and not rush decision
making
Optimism Optimistic explanatory style - wed to reality
Causal analysis Ability to view difficulties from a number of perspectives,
and consider many factors
Empathy Ability to read and understand the emotions of others.
Helps build relationships with others and gives social
support
Self-efficacy Confidence in your ability to solve problems - involves
knowing your strengths and weaknesses
Reaching Out Being prepared to take appropriate risk - a willingness
to try things and view failure as part of life.