Child and Youth Mental Health in Canada

Patricia Kostouros is a psychologist and Full Professor in the Department of Child Studies and Social Work at Mount Royal University. Shemine Alnoor Gulamhusein is an Assistant Professor in the School of Child and Youth Care at the University of Victoria. Brenda Thompson was previously an Instructor in both the Bachelor of Child and Youth Care and the Correctional Services diploma programs at MacEwan University.

• ForewordAcknowledgementsChapter 1: Before We Begin: Important ConsiderationsChapter 2: Practitioner WellnessChapter 3: Trauma and AttachmentChapter 4: Family HomeChapter 5: Elementary SchoolChapter 6: Junior High and High SchoolChapter 7: Recreation and Expressive Therapeutic InterventionsChapter 8: Community-Based ServicesChapter 9: Northern and Rural CommunitiesChapter 10: Residential CareChapter 11: Secure-Based ServicesChapter 12: Youth Homelessness and Shelter ServicesChapter 13: Youth Criminal JusticeChapter 14: Youth in TransitionConclusion

The second edition of this text, like the first, offers strengths-focused approaches to child and youth mental health in multiple settings. With updated and timely content, the editors have made a commendable commitment to diversity and inclusion throughout. The lived experience of the authors surfaces in the breadth of the issues discussed and the nature of the case studies presented. The settings-based approach to considering child and youth mental health effectively reinforces common issues and the need for plain language with minimal diagnostic labelling. This text provides readers with overarching frameworks, discusses the critical importance of practitioner wellness and the impact of trauma, and highlights the unique concerns for children and practitioners engaged in various settings."—Dr. Carol Stuart, Retired Provost and Vice-President Academic, Vancouver Island University "I highly recommend this timely, relevant, and entirely useful book. Each chapter provides a thorough and accessible analysis of the issues that are its focus and with that also offers clear, workable, and compassionate practice guidelines that are immediately transferable to the everyday lives of child and youth care professionals. These authors have oriented us to the central tenets of ethical practice that are foundational to effective engagement with children, youth, and their families and communities."—Sibylle Artz, Full Professor, School of Child and Youth Care, University of Victoria, and Editor, International Journal of Child, Youth and Family Studies"Child and Youth Mental Health in Canada provides a refreshing combination of conceptual, practical, and strengths-focused approaches to helping young people before or after a mental health diagnosis. The editors and authors approach mental health from the perspective of a social and cultural construction, recognizing that a diagnosis is merely a label and is not necessarily accompanied by a 'user's manual' for parents or young people. The authors provide practical suggestions for accommodating and supporting young people toward success. Each chapter provides case studies to pull together the important concepts as well as reflective questions that prompt readers to attend to their own awareness about their relationships with young people struggling with mental health concerns. Readers are encouraged to understand that mental health is not static and that labels are guides, not prescriptions."—Carol Stuart, Interim Provost and Vice-President Academic, Vancouver Island University