Abstract
Both the 2006 Senate Committee report on mental health—Out of the Shadows At Last—and the National Mental Health Strategy released by the Mental Health Commission of Canada in 2012 make clear that child and youth mental health services must be given the highest priority in a transformed mental health system.
The reason for this is that 70% of adults with a mental illness had the first onset of the illness before the age of 20. If their illnesses were diagnosed and treated when they first emerged, in the vast majority of cases the young person would go on to live a normal and productive life. Today, only about 20% of these young people get the treatment they need; 80% go untreated.
Schools will have to play a major role in a transformed child and youth mental health system. Why? Because schools are the one place where all young people go and because teachers, while not having the skills to diagnose a mental illness, do have the skills to detect a child who may need help. Therefore making schools an integral part of the child and youth mental health service delivery is essential.
I was recently delighted to be part of the University of Western Ontario’s conference on School Based Mental Health Services. Education faculties such as Western’s need to be involved in the research required for us to know exactly what the school based part of the transformed mental health system should be. They also have the central role to play in educating the next generation of teachers about their role in child and youth mental health.
I believe that the knowledge contained in this special issue of the Canadian Journal of School Psychology is one of the critical steps down the long road of ensuring that Canada’s young people get help with their mental health problems when and where they need it. That is why it is so important.