Parent and Provider Views: Care in the Children's Mental Health "System"

When parents learn their child may be suffering from a mental illness, it is often a time of great concern and anxiety. Most parents seem to find themselves suddenly cast into a sea of unknowns, and this is often complicated by their feelings of shame and stigma of having a child with a mental illness. Like most illnesses, the sooner a child receives the best, appropriate care, the sooner they can begin their journey on the road to recovery. But the impediments to accessing the best care can seem insurmountable.

Research of the past 20 years has yielded a wealth of knowledge about what works for children with many different mental illnesses. The body of research literature and evidence regarding the safe, effective use of medications for children is growing. But not all proven interventions and practices are in the hands of all practitioners and providers. The results are a seemingly fragmented children's mental health system that at times offers uneven care and which can leave parents on a continual search for effective treatments they know must be out there.

The study presented in this poster was designed to begin defining the specific domains of issues and challenges parents face while seeking “the best care” for their children. Utilizing qualitative methods – semi-structured interviews with practitioners, focus groups with parents -- data were collected from a wide range of subjects throughout the NY City area. The results are a snap-shot of the children's mental health care system, from those specific perspectives.