About Child and Youth Mental Health
Research shows that the average overall community prevalence rate for mental disorders in children and youth is 15%.
This means that in BC, approximately 140,000 children and youth experience mental disorders causing significant distress and impairing their functioning at home, at school, with peers, or in the community.
These mental disorders include any anxiety disorder, conduct disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, any depressive disorder, substance abuse, pervasive development disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, Tourette's disorder, any eating disorder and bipolar disorder.
To reduce the burden of suffering resulting from children's mental illness, child and youth mental health services are offered throughout British Columbia by the Ministry for Children and Family Development (MCFD). These services provide a wide range of community-based specialized mental health services to mentally ill children and their families.
In this section you will find information on the FRIENDS for Life program and Teen Depression Self Help Tool as well as other resources. You will also find information about our latest initiatives.
Healthy Minds, Healthy People – A 10-Year Plan to Address Mental Health and Substance Use in BC
Released on November 1, 2010 by the ministries of Children and Family Development and Health Services, the 10-year plan seeks to address mental health and substance use across the lifespan, with a strong emphasis on healthy development in children, youth and families. MCFD will lead the child and youth component of the Plan which builds on the accomplishments of the 5-Year Child and Youth Mental Health Plan released in 2003 and incorporates recommendations from the 2008 CYMH Plan Review.
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