ABSTRACT
Although there are differing theoretical explanations of why childhood mental health and psychological well-being are so important for later life, there is at this time better knowledge about the prevalence and incidence of children’s mental health problems in the UK than ever before, not least because of the Office for National Statistics community-based survey (Meltzer et al., 2000; Green et al., 2004). Ten per cent of 5 to 15 year olds have a diagnosable mental health disorder, which if extrapolated to the population of England and Wales, means that around 1.1 million children and young people could benefit from specialist help. Of that number, up to 45,000 have a severe mental health problem. Although the surveys estimate the magnitude of the problems, they also make it clear that many of these children and young people – around 40 per cent – are not in contact with relevant services. There is a danger that social workers located in mainstream settings will regard children and young people’s mental health as a specialist area which can be left to the experts. Surveys and studies of ‘caseness’ in referrals to services (e.g., Huxley et al., 1987) show that all social workers need to have some understanding and recognition of children’s mental health problems, when to refer for specialist help, and when to reassure families that some ‘problems’ are within the range of normal child development.
