Keyword: children

Developed by a multidisciplinary team under the supervision of Professor Brian Mishara from the Université du Québec à Montréal and funded by the Public Health Agency of Canada, the mental health promotion program Passeport: S’équiper pour la vie (Passport: Skills for life) promotes children’s emotional well-being. More specifically, it encourages children to identify and assess coping strategies themselves in order to deal with new situations and everyday challenges. Studies show that early development of coping skills helps the child overcome challenges encountered during adolescence and adulthood

Over the past year, the FEJ and mental health teams of the CSSS Dorval-Lachine-Lasalle wrote a document entitled, “Connecting the FEJ-DI-TED-DP, Psycho-social and Mental Health Services”. This document was a response to concerns the SIPPE program felt regarding its collaboration with the mental health team. It presents a framework for practice aiming to increase teamwork and collaboration between various services. Since implementing this framework last fall, we have noticed improvements in communication between health care providers on the FEJ and mental health teams. Because we are dealing with two programs with two distinct mandates, collaboration remains complex and great challenges lie ahead.

The 2009-2010 New Brunswick Student Wellness Survey draws an alarming portrait of the student body’s mental health. According to the survey, only 17% of students have a high level of mental fitness (15% of boys and 19% of girls). These rates clearly indicate a need to further develop approaches that aim to improve the mental fitness of youth in our schools.

Quebec has been experiencing a mini baby boom since 2005, the greatest increase registering in mothers aged 25-39 years. In most cases, it is a first pregnancy and birth.

Now more than ever, parents have access to a host of resources to help them through the pregnancy and prepare for their newborn’s arrival.

The semantics of a word often has an impact on perceptions, ideas and beliefs associated with that word. Unlike physical health, we often think of illness or disorder in connection with mental health. That’s why New Brunswick’s Wellness Strategy uses the term ‘mental fitness’ to promote mental health.

Quebec is committed to disseminating effective promotion and prevention practices in the school context. For over five years, through an intersectoral approach, Healthy Schools, partners in education and health have been asked to work together interdependently and collaboratively to reinforce actions that will support youth throughout their development.

Several mental health problems begin at an early age, influencing mental health throughout adulthood. Many experts working in mental health prevention and promotion maintain that school is the best place to implement programs promoting mental health. It is a place where children spend a considerable amount of time, making it easy to reach all children, including those living in vulnerable conditions.

The prenatal period and early childhood years set a crucial foundation for an individual’s mental health. Protective and risk factors contribute to making children stronger or more vulnerable in the short, medium or long term, even though they may be subsequently altered by other factors. As a result, these periods are especially favourable for both the promotion of mental health and the prevention of mental disorders.