Mental illness in children is not a myth, and is very much prevalent today. This is according to counselor within the Ministry of National Mobilization Mr. Kesley Cambridge, who made the statement when he joined WEFM’s Activated Morning show earlier today.
Mr. Cambridge said the Government and UNICEF are trying to dispel that myth.
“There is a whole myth that is going around that children don’t suffer with mental health illnesses and challenges and that is something that UNICEF and even St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Government, is trying to tackle, to tell folks that this is not a reality, because children do suffer with mental health illnesses, mental health challenges and it should be something that we prioritize because our children are our future, and as a result of that we need to be able to cater to them in these early fragile stages of their lives, early developmental stages of their lives, to ensure that they are able to live normal, productive lives as adults,” he said.
Mr. Cambridge provided examples of some of the mental health illnesses that he has seen affecting children right here in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Some of the mentall challenges that Mr. Cambridge has observed children right here in SVG facing are; anxiety, depression, conduct disorder, ADHD, PTSD, OCD, to name a few.
He also noted that some children have had suicidal ideations.
