Taking action to improve child and youth mental health in Ontario
August 27, 2010 Ottawa – The Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health at CHEO (the Centre) applauds the recommendations contained in “Navigating the Journey to Wellness: The Comprehensive Mental Health and Addictions Action Plan for Ontarians. One in five Ontario children and youth suffer from a mental illness or disorder. Half of all lifetime cases of mental illness start by age 14 years and 75 per cent by age 24 years.

"It is critical for us to highlight child and youth mental health in any plan that hopes to address the mental health of Ontarians across the lifespan. Focusing on mental health early and having access to effective services for those in need will help our young people grow more fully into their adult years," says Ian Manion, Executive Director, the Centre. "The members of the Standing Committee have heard the heart-wrenching stories of young people and families who are suffering and recognize the need for us to do better in child and youth mental health."   Click here to read more

Psychotropic Medication Resources – helping youth and caregivers manage meds with confidence
Youth-oriented information on psychotropic medications and rights related to their use are generally hard to find. Focus on the Facts, Medications and Youth, and My Meds, My Rights are new fact sheets for youth and their adult caregivers designed to fill this gap.. These colourful and clearly-written resources provide medication information, legal information and what to do in an emergency. They were developed in partnership with researchers at Dalhousie University with expertise in pharmacology [Drs. David Gardner and Andrea Murphy] and adolescent psychiatry [Dr. Stan Kutcher]. During the development of these materials, a series of focus groups and interviews with youth and caregivers were held to make sure the content was relevant and useful. Click here to read more

Order your free psychotropic medication resources online. Minimum orders of 200 English and 50 French units. Free shipping within Canada.

The Provincial Centre of Excellence for Child and Youth Mental Health at CHEO is proud to announce the release of its 2009-10 annual report, entitled Sharing Knowledge. Building Connections. Strengthening Care.