How many parents of children attending child and adolescent mental health services experience mental illness themselves?
Tim Campbell, Andrea Reupert, Keith Sutton, Soumya Basu, Gavin Davidson, Christel Middeldorp, Michael Naughton, and Darryl Maybery
Research has found that around 14% of children in Australia and 10–20% of children globally experience mental health difficulties. Previous research has suggested that parental mental health is an important determinant of how children engage with, and respond to, treatment in child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). This short article looks at a study which investigated the prevalence of parental mental illness in CAMHS, and the ways in which CAMHS and child and adolescent mental health practitioners can support children, parents and families in these circumstances.