Managing Common Mental Health Problems

This session describes some of the broad issues to consider when managing common or potentially serious mental health problems in young people. It concentrates on generic principles including ethical considerations, the timeliness of intervention, and the involvement of parents.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session you will be able to:

• Describe the factors that would influence your decision as to when to intervene when a young person presents with a mental health problem
• Be aware of the use of structured assessment tools in the management of young people with mental health problems
• Know about the ethical and legal issues in relation to young people with mental health problems including involvement of parents
• Have a framework for offering initial management for young people with mental health problems

Mental health problems in young people cannot always be divided into simple diagnostic categories for which there are clear management strategies. This is particularly true of young people in non-specialist health settings such as general practice, teenage clinics, and general hospital settings.