Early Intervention for Children of Parents with a Mental Illness
In the summer of 2018, a $50,000 innovation research grant from the Ontario Centre of Excellence (OCE) for Child and Youth Mental Health (CYMH) was awarded to Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, the Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Society (WECAS) and the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit (WECHU) to help identify ways to help children with a parent(s) with mental illness. It is estimated that more than 12 per cent of children in Canada live with a parent who has one or more mental health disorders. The research conducted to help design programs for these children is the first of its kind in Windsor-Essex and one of the few research projects in Canada for these children.
To understand what these strategies should look like, the team conducted an extensive literature review and environmental scan and hosted three workshops with:
- Group 1 – Mental Health Service Providers
- Group 2- Parents with a Mental Illness
- Group 3 - Youth who have a parent with a mental illness
An engaging video providing information to children and youth who have a parent with a mental illness was developed as a part of this project.
For more project information, click here.