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Media Release Emotional disturbance - an individual or family issue?
Media Release Emotional disturbance - an individual or family issue? 
| Emotional disturbance - an individual or family issue? |
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Immediate Release September 25, 2008
Emotional disturbance - an individual or family issue?
Vancouver – Beyond the Blues: Depression Anxiety Education and Screening Day 2008 will return to S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Chinatown office on October 11 2008. This event is jointly hosted by Canadian Mental Health Association and S.U.C.C.E.S.S.. Last year’s event received overwhelming response with over 500 participants from the Chinese community for screening, mental health workshops and information booths. “As our clients originated from China continued to increase over the past years, our counseling caseload has also increased by over 50%” said Tung Chan, CEO of S.U.C.C.E.S.S.. According to Mr. Chan, S.U.C.C.E.S.S.S. Chinese Helplines, available in both Cantonese and Mandarin, received a total of 3,991 calls in 2007 while 23.6% of them were associated with emotional, depression, or mental health issues. Many of the counseling cases that were presented as relationship or behavior problems in fact had underlying mental health issues. All these indicate that emotional disturbance is not only confined to the individual but also has great impact on the whole family. “It is extremely important that we understand the interplay of individual and family dynamics,” Mr. Chan noted. Members in Chinese families are known to be closely knitted and emotional relations between couples or between generations can easily affect everyone in the family. But Chinese families are not used to discussing emotional issues openly. Thus depression and anxiety disorders can easily go by undetected. Research shows that 70% of adults with mental health problems and mental illness have their onset in childhood or adolescence. “Early detection and timely professional help is vital to the family,” said Dr. Jack Young, Clinical Psychologist. Recent studies have found higher incidences of learning problems with children who have experienced in-utero distress. Children are very sensitive to what is going on in their environment. They can easily take on the distress of their parents. “Gifted” or smart kids are found more prone to mental or emotional problems. However distress in the child can in turn cause difficulties leading to mental emotional problems for the parents. Chinese parents are appropriately concerned about their children’s welfare and development. They tend to overlook their own emotional health and not realize how it can impact their children. “A lot of emotional problems are hidden. Hidden depressives are not obvious. A person who is depressed may still be working or “functioning” but really the underlying tension can have very negative impact on the family environment. It is crucial that we find out where we are at emotionally before the impact goes out of control,” Dr. Jack noted. Beyond the Blues is an annual awareness day to engage people to learn more about mood disorders. 2008 is the 14th season of the program in BC. “We are very proud to partner with S.U.C.C.E.S.S. to repeat our success last year,” said Rebecca Shields, Executive Director, Burnaby Branch of Canadian Mental Health Association. “The joint initiative and our Chinese Mental Heath Promotion Programs help us reach out further to the Chinese community.” Depression is a major public health concern and help is always available. S.U.C.C.E.S.S. provides the largest intake point for the Chinese community through Counseling and the Chinese Helplines. “Our clinical counselors will conduct assessment of cases from a family system perspective. New counseling service is now available in Richmond. We also provide counseling support to care-givers of mental health patients to help relieve their burden of caring. Recently, we introduce Play Therapy - an effective approach to help identify emotional issues such as depression in children. We found it quite effective for Chinese families. It is important that those who are affected by emotional/mental health problems should come forward,” said Tung Chan. About Canadian Mental Health Association The Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) is a nation-wide charitable organization that promotes the mental health of all Canadians and supports the resilience and recovery of people experiencing mental illness. For further information, please visit www.cmha.ca. About S.U.C.C.E.S.S. S.U.C.C.E.S.S. has been “Innovatively Integrating New Canadians for 35 Years.” It is now one of the largest social service providers in British Columbia with over 20 locations and 2 overseas offices. For more details, please visit: www.success.bc.ca
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