Professor Frank Oberklaid AM was the Foundation Director of the
Centre for Community Child Health at The Royal Children's Hospital
Melbourne. He is currently Co-Group Leader of Child Health Policy,
Equity and Translation at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. a.
He has written 2 books and over 150 papers in scientific journals. Frank
has long standing clinical, research and policy interests in children’s
health, development and wellbeing, and has chaired or been a member of
numerous expert working groups at a state, national and international
level, as well as being a consultant for the World Health Organisation
and UNICEF Most recently he was co-chair of the National Child Mental
Health and Wellbeing Strategy which outlines a detailed policy and
service framework for child mental health in Australia. Frank’s work has
been recognised by a number of prestigious awards, and he has been the
recipient of invited lectureships and visiting professor appointments in
over 20 countries.
The role of educators in supporting the mental health of students
Child mental health has finally gained the attention of policy makers, having previously been crowded out by adult and then adolescent mental health. The COVID epidemic has raised awareness of the specific social and emotional needs of children, as so many have struggled during this time. However it is still a challenging policy area for government because of its complexity – the central role of parents, the many professionals who engage with children and families, and the opportunities for prevention and early intervention. There are no simple solutions.
Three major reviews on the past few years – the Productivity Commission, the Victorian Royal Commission, and the National Child Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, have had a focus on child mental health. All 3 reports highlighted the importance of schools as being an ideal platform to address child mental health, and each made a number of recommendations to this end.
There are important differences between child and adult mental health that inform the way schools address mental health issues. First and foremost is approaching child mental health through a developmental lens which focuses on the child in the family context, rather than a ‘diagnose and treat’ lens which characterises adult mental health. Second is understanding the limitations of diagnosis and the dangers of assessing children to determine whether they meet criteria for a DSM diagnosis. And third is using the relationships an educator has with students to pinpoint the opportunities for prevention and early intervention. These themes will be discussed in the presentation.