Clients Are Asking: Help for Children & Families -- Breakthrough Winter 2004

"My six-year old son is behaving aggressively a lot of the time and he is increasingly disruptive to the rest of our family. I don't know what is causing this: is there somewhere I can turn to for help?"

Anne Marie Levac, RN, MN, Advanced Practice Nurse in the Child, Youth and Family Program responds:

There definitely is a program where you can turn to for help, right here at CAMH. In the Child, Youth and Family Program, there are over ten different services that staff can recommend to you. Once we receive your referral, an Intake Worker contacts you to better understand your situation and your son's struggles. Given that his behaviour is becoming increasingly disruptive, your son would mostly likely then be referred to our Child and Youth Intervention and Research Service (CYIRS). This service offers assessment, consultation and treatment services for children and youth experiencing disruptive and aggressive behaviour, as well as their families.

We believe in a family-centred approach and so, we consider both individual and family factors that may be affecting the problem. Children and adolescents who come to this service may be fighting, lying, stealing, breaking rules, skipping school or experiencing other problems related to aggressive behaviour. Often the problems are noticed at home, at school, with peers and in the community.

Our team is multidisciplinary and made up of child mental health professionals. It includes child and youth workers, social workers, nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists and students from various disciplines.

The first time we meet with you, we like to see as many family members as possible. We may meet all of you together and then some family members on their own. This usually takes about two hours. At the end of the assessment meeting, we recommend options that could help your child; these can range from individual therapy to group therapy or a classroom program. If we are unable to offer the appropriate help, we will help you find these resources in the community.

CYIRS offers a range of interventions: from individualized treatment for the child or youth or family, to group treatment for both parents and children to treatment for children in a classroom setting.

The Individualized Treatment Team offers one-to-one work between the child or youth, some or all family members and a therapist to help everyone learn new ways to deal with problems related to aggression;
The Group Treatment Team offers groups for parents and children;
The Incredible Years Parenting Program is a 12-week parent training group. It is offered to parents looking for help coping with aggressive and disruptive behaviours in their three-to-12-year-old children. The purpose of this group is to promote positive behaviours in children, reduce parents' stress, improve the relationship between parent and child, and lessen aggressive behaviours in children;
The Dinosaur Social Skills Program is an 18-week group for children aged four to eight years. This program teaches children positive ways to communicate, solve problems, deal with anger, build self-esteem and further develop social skills. It is fun and uses puppets to help the children communicate their feelings;
The Classroom Assessment and Treatment for Children's Health (CATCH) classroom team offers on-site day treatment for 19 weeks. It serves eight children aged six to eight with disruptive behaviour disorders and their families. The CATCH classroom has both treatment and research goals: to offer brief, evidence-based day treatment; and to evaluate the outcome of the treatment. The program has therapeutic and academic components: it follows the academic guidelines and curriculum set by the Ontario Ministry of Education, and it offers individual and group therapy to children focusing on their positive and adaptive behaviour. The therapy applies principles of Errorless Remediation (that is, offering praise and encouragement for succeeding at gradually more difficult tasks) and a supportive and structured environment. Work with the families in conjunction with the classroom team is an essential component for bringing about change in the children's behaviour.

CYIRS is active in other research as well. The Children's Aggression Multidisciplinary Program (CAMP) is a clinical research team that is studying the possible causes of aggressive behaviour. Researchers have learned that some children are at increased risk of developing aggressive behaviour. To better understand aggressive behaviour, we look at the genetic and psychosocial factors that may influence its development. If your child has had problems with disruptive or aggressive behaviour for at least two years, he or she may be an appropriate candidate for our study.

You may contact our receptionist, Jennifer Laurence at (416) 535-8501 ext. 4405, or our Intake worker Mary Anne Shaw at (416) 535-8501 ext. 6248 for more information about our services.

Got a question about your treatment? Breakthough will help you get the answer. Please contact Public Affairs (416) 979-4250 or <public_affairs@camh.net>.