What do you do when a child’s mental health begins to suffer?

2010-08-02

The summer is not yet over and already certain students are petrified by the thought of returning to class. Do you know a student who has such difficulty managing his or her anxiety about school that it affects his or her daily functioning? You can help by informing yourself about the mechanisms that cause anxiety in order to better understand what is happening in the mind of an anxious student.

Participants of the 2009 Mini-Psych School talk about their experience
Participants of the 2009 Mini-Psych School talk about their experience
Camillo Zacchia, PhD, Professional Chief of Psychology at the Douglas and lecturer about such topics as anxiety and stress is available to discuss this with you. He will also be the host of the Mini-Psych School’s 2010 sessions, which are aimed at the general public and will deal specifically with the mental health of children and youth. The following clinicians and researchers from the Douglas Mental Health University Institute will be the Mini-Psych School teachers this year and are available for interviews:

  • Childhood abuse affects the brain. Is the damage reversible? To answer this question, Gustavo Turecki, MD, PhD, Director of the McGill Group for Suicide Studies, will share the results of his team’s most recent discovery from research done at the Douglas and McGill. 
  • Is it true that children can suffer from depression? Are you skeptical? Certain child psychiatrists are also. Nevertheless, there are studies that show that we can help children by identifying early warning signs. This subject, which divides the scientific community, is of interest to Johanne Renaud, MD, MSc, FRCPC, Medical Chief of the Youth Section of the Depressive Disorders Program at the Douglas. 
  • Hyperactive children: When and how should you take action?Questions such as these can cause great distress to parents with a child presenting symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Ridha Joober, MD, PhD, Director of the Neurodevelopmental Disorders Research Theme, can shed light on this subject. 

Information

Florence Meney
Media Relation
Communications and public affairs
Phone: 514-761-6131, ext. 2769
Cell.: 514-835-3236
florence_dot_meney_At_douglas_dot_mcgill_dot_ca