In light of the recent rise in violence among schoolchildren, psychiatrist Dr Keo Forde-St Hill is concerned about the increasing number of adolescents presenting with mental health issues.
While she was not able to give definite numbers, the psychologist at the Psychiatric Hospital said that a concerning number of people were coming to the hospital for assistance.
“I can’t say definitively, because I don’t have the statistics to say, ‘Well, yes’ for sure. I would only be able to speak about what I personally see when I’m on duty. And I think that now that persons know how to access the services and how available our services are now, they are accessing them more,” she said.
Forde-St Hill was speaking to the Sunday Sun yesterday following a session under the theme Millennial Youth Challenges: More Than Misbehaviour put on by the Royal Barbados Police Force Juvenile Liaison Scheme.
The psychiatrist said violence in schools was a great concern to the authorities and needed to be addressed.
“Violence is usually as a result of various things, so knowing how to tackle it is a difficult question to answer, because each case is different,” she said.
“The most important thing for parents, as well as teachers, is to be vigilant with each child and if you see a behaviour that you’re concerned about, raise the alarm from early.
“Involve everyone, speak to the parents, speak to the guidance counsellors, and seek the help from outside persons in terms of a psychiatrist from early. Don’t just allow a behaviour to manifest,” Forde-St Hill stressed.
One of the organisers of the session, psychology intern at the University of the West Indies, Linda Wilfred-Richards, said that through working with the scheme they realised how many children were presenting with mental health issues and she saw the need for such a session.
“The reason we did the session is because we work with the students at the Juvenile Liaison Scheme and what we recognise is the importance of dealing with the family issues, as well as helping to support parents in what they are already doing to address any behavioural problems or general issues that children go through or face,” she said.
“We wanted to provide a forum for parents to come to raise challenges they are facing and find support in each other as well as to have the support of the professionals.”
Yesterday’s session was the second in a series the scheme is putting on to address many different issues facing the youth.
“We developed this series, which is a continuation of the parenting programme they had already. Last month we did general youth issues; this session was to address mental health issues which are often overlooked. The next session will be substance abuse on March 24,” Wilfred-Richards added. (DB)