Aussie new well-being tool helps identify children's mental health

SYDNEY, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Australia's Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) has released a new tool, known as the Mental Health Continuum, to support conversations about children's well-being and help detect their mental state.

The institute said in a statement on Wednesday that the continuum works by providing four anchor points on a scale, ranging from "good" through to "coping," "struggling" and "overwhelmed," which can assist in identifying those who are struggling at an early stage where intervention may prevent progression to more serious mental health problems.

According to the statement, in any 12-month period, there are typically around one in seven children receiving a mental health diagnosis, and another 10 percent are struggling with issues that impact daily life.

"The language used to describe a child's mental health and well-being has an important effect on how mental health is understood," said Frank Oberklaid, leader of the development group and director of the Mental Health in Primary Schools (MHiPS) project.

"For many families, mental health is not an easy topic to discuss, so tools that help to start a conversation about how a child is feeling shift the dialogue to a focus on the child and not a diagnosis," said Oberklaid.

In a press release on Thursday, the MHiPS project said that the tool has been introduced into schools and is already harnessing positive feedback from teachers and parents.