A social enterprise providing education and information to protect and enhance the mental health of young people
Parents play a key role in helping children develop good mental health. It is important that parents support and encourage positive mental health habits in children from an early age, and continue encouraging positive mental health behaviours during adolescence. These positive habits will support young people’s health and wellbeing in all life domains into the [...]
It's freezing in the morning when I trudge to work and dark in the evening when I plod home. But while drizzling showers, occasional thunderstorms, and the bitter wind is making me grumpy and irritable - I'm not struggling as much as some of my patients. For some people, winter months herald the start of [...]
When a new study surfaced a few weeks ago revealing that, of all the major social media networks, Instagram was the most detrimental to young people's mental health, it made alarmist news headlines around the world. But for Sydney-based online safety expert Leonie Smith, it was business as usual. "I've seen more porn, more drug [...]
With around half of the Australian population logging into Facebook on a daily basis (yes, that's 12.2 million of us), it's safe to say social media plays a large role in many of our everyday lives. Of course, while there are numerous benefits to social media use, what you get out of it corresponds rather [...]
New neuroimaging research has found that depression is associated with abnormal function in an area of the brain known as the medial prefrontal cortex. The study, published in the American Journal of Psychiatry, investigated how the medial prefrontal cortex interacted with other areas of the brain in depression. The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging [...]
I’m going to suggest something controversial - body image can be just as much an issue for men as it is for women, it’s just that we rarely hear about it from men themselves. We know that talking and being emotionally vulnerable can be hard for men. Add to the equation an ultra-sensitive sore point [...]
If you are an extrovert – your introverted child might completely baffle you? I have worked with parents who have said things like, “We are so outgoing. How did we have such an introverted child?” and “What should we do to help her?” For starters – she doesn’t need help. At least – not for [...]
New research has found growing up in a disadvantaged neighbourhood may have negative effects on children’s brain development. But for males, at least, positive parenting negated these negative effects, providing some good lessons for parents. Living in a disadvantaged neighbourhood (where there are more people who have low income jobs or are unemployed, are less [...]
Owning your own smartphone or tablet is now the new normal for Australian children, new research released today shows. The latest Australian Child Health Poll has found that almost all Australian teenagers, two- thirds of primary school-aged children and one-third of pre-schoolers now own their own tablet or smartphone. As well as owning their own [...]
The loss of a pet is often a child’s first experience with death. Understanding the unique ways that children view pets and respond to their passing can help parents to ease the grieving process. Joshua Russell, an assistant professor of environmental science at Canisius College in Buffalo, who has studied the effects of pet loss [...]
