Looking Inside Young Minds - Essay Example

Like 3000 other callers this year, Thelma has contacted an organisation known as YoungMinds. YoungMinds, a national charity, is committed to improving the mental health of babies, children, and young people. Though the hotline is their most visible form of outreach, they function in numerous capacities to help children, parents, and professionals in their goal of helping children. They operate a parent's information hotline, publish numerous pamphlets and leaflets, conduct research, and consult with policy makers and practitioners in the field of child advocacy.

YoungMinds, a multi-faceted organisation, offers immediate crisis help as well as research, training, and professional consultation. These extraordinary features make YoungMinds one of the most comprehensive advocates for children available to the general public. To understand the complexity of YoungMinds, it's helpful to follow a single case from the initial contact through to resolution. During Thelma's initial call, the operator gathered information about the child, the living situation, and the problems that confronted the family.

After recommending further contact, it was arranged to have a professional call back at Thelma's convenience. . In this case the professional was able to resolve the situation, but other scenarios may result in a client referral to another appropriate agency. In most cases, this highly effective approach will have given Thelma the tools she needs, as well as written material that will be of value to herThough Thelma's situation had to do with inappropriate violence, YoungMinds delves into numerous problems that children encounter.

These issues include many diverse topics such as bullying, self-esteem, substance abuse, and behavioural issues. Issues as far reaching as gambling and eating disorders can be handled by the staff at YoungMinds. In addition, they expand their capabilities by offering training to other mental health professionals that deal with children's issues. Teachers, social workers, and foster caregivers can receive on-site training as well as written material that reflects the most up to date research and findings that affect children's mental health.

The written material published by YoungMinds is aimed at children as well professionals and parents. Booklets written for children address issues such as depression, anger, sexual abuse, and coping with a dysfunctional family. They publish guides to advise parents that may be going through a divorce or experiencing other emotional problems. Their regular publication of YoungMinds Magazine covers news, analysis, activities of parliament, opinion, and upcoming events of interest. Many of these publications are available in electronic format at no charge, or may be ordered in print at a small fee.

The nominal charge that YoungMinds receives for their printed material simply covers the cost of publication and reproducing. According to their 2005 annual report, eighty percent of their budget, which is less than