Child and Youth Mental Health Columns

An estimated 13 per cent of youth in BC each year experience a mental health issue —that means up to 83,700 children and youth under the age of 19 may be suffering with symptoms they don't know how to deal with or how to get help.

Child and Youth Mental Health Columns

Dr. David Smith, adolescent and adult psychiatrist, and the medical director of the Okanagan Psychiatric services for Interior Health, has written a series of columns with information on how and when to access services for common child and youth mental health issues.

This series is a project of the Child and Youth Mental Health and Substance Use Collaborative and includes articles on depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. All articles can be found below.

1 - Mental health for children and youth - how to get the help you need

2 - Fear not - there is help for children and youth with anxiety

3 - Recognizing the signs and symptoms of depression in your child or teen

4 - Drugs, alcohol and mental health problems: which came first?

5 - Eating disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorder

6 - Bipolar disorder and Schizophrenia

7 - Reducing stigma and getting the family support you need

8 - Self-Harm - "Why is my child doing this?"

9 - Child & youth mental health help through new streamlined intake clinics

10-Teens and Stress

11-Learning Simple CBT Skills for Mental Distress