These organisations provide support in a crisis The Mix provides a free confidential telephone helpline and online service for anyone under 25, which aims to find young people the best help, whatever the problem. ChildLine provides a confidential telephone and online counselling service for anyone under 19. If you are a parent or carer, you can suggest some of these to your child, or get advice for yourself.

Give it time

Through our network of child and youth mental health centres, Children’s Mental Health Ontario has 4,000 child and youth mental healthcare workers across Ontario ready to help parents and their children. It also provides culturally safe services to First Nations, Métis, Inuit, urban Indigenous, and francophone children, youth, and their families. Ontario’s Secure Treatment Program provides intensive care for children and youth under the age of 18 years experiencing acute and complex mental health or addictions challenges who are at risk of self-harm or harm to others. There are hundreds of programs and services across Ontario that offer help to children and youth with mental health and addiction concerns up to 18 years of age. Learn when mental health issues become safeguarding concerns, how to recognise this and support the children and young people you work with. In Scotland, the government has produced guidance on the mental health and wellbeing of disabled children, young people and their families.26

Plan time for play.

Guttempler offers 24/7, free, compassionate and confidential support by phone. TelefonSeelsorge is a 24/7 hotline for all German-speaking people living at home and abroad, which offers free and confidential… Sessions are developmentally tailored; we adjust language, activities and goals to suit each stage—from pre‑school through late adolescence. Early support can prevent issues from becoming entrenched and empowers families with practical coping tools. Research shows that frequent moves and cultural transitions can heighten stress levels and affect mental‑health outcomes in young people (sometimes referred to as Expat Child Syndrome).

• For individuals in need of urgent care, hospitals in Berlin have emergency services that can address mental health crises.
• If you are a child or teen, talk to your parents, school counselor, or health care provider.
• To find out if you can refer yourself to a service, you’ll need to contact your local children and young people’s mental health services.
• Do look out for signs, talk to the child about how they’re feeling and share any safeguarding concerns in line with your organisation’s child protection policies and procedures.

Having fish, turtles and hamsters on a constant basis does seem to protect children from mental health problems. They are more independent, which limits emotional bonding, and some families may choose this animal as a pet because their children have emotional needs of their own. When we evaluated the relationship between the presence of animals and mental health, we observed that children who had never had a pet showed the most positive scores. But beyond these benefits, how does living alongside an animal impact children’s mental health? We believe that children should not have to face mental health problems alone. Place2Be is a children’s mental health charity who started Children’s Mental Health Week in 2015.

Culturally Competent Care

Young people have a right to privacy if they don’t want to talk to their family about their conversations with professionals. Still, they will usually need a parent’s consent for medical care if they’re under 16. Young people can seek help on their own by ringing a helpline https://amshq.org/blog/uncategorized/2022-11-04-6-ways-to-support-early-childhood-mental-health/ or approaching a professional directly. They may be referred to a specialist, such as a trained counsellor, to help them explore their feelings and behaviour. Young Minds has a Parents’ Helpline you can call if you’re worried about a child up to the age of 25. You could text the YoungMinds Crisis Messenger if you need support.