Nursery World - Early start for mental health

Mental health problems afflicting pre-school children may be prevented if greater steps are taken to help their parents before the children are born and in the crucial period shortly afterwards, says a leading campaigner. Dinah Morley, deputy director of the mental health charity Young Minds, made her comments following the launch in London of a report on early intervention published by the Mental Health Foundation. The report, by Jacqueline Barnes and Anne-marie Freude-Lagevardi of University College London, said such intervention was vital and targeting at-risk communities, rather than specific families, was more productive and less likely to lead to them being stigmatised and discouraged from seeking help.

Dinah Morley, deputy director of the mental health charity Young Minds, made her comments following the launch in London of a report on early intervention published by the Mental Health Foundation. The report, by Jacqueline Barnes and Anne-marie Freude-Lagevardi of University College London, said such intervention was vital and targeting at-risk communities, rather than specific families, was more productive and less likely to lead to them being stigmatised and discouraged from seeking help.

Ms Morley said that building on existing universal services, such as Sure Start, was the best route to helping individual families because 'they can set in place a support network in a community which can last a lifetime'.

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