Youth Mental Health in Canada: Challenges and Strategies

Briefing Note
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

Purpose:
The brief will be useful to the minister in charge and the state on the available
information on mental health of our young people, what has been done so far and the potential
mechanisms/strategies that can effectively utilized to enhance change. The purpose of the
briefing note is to help inform/enlighten the state and the audience on the mental issues among
the youths in the society. This paper briefly examines current mental health issues faced by
young people in Canada and highlights the role of the federal government in addressing these
problems.
Background
The State of Current Knowledge on youth’s Mental Health
Youth mental health issues have reached an all-time high where between 15-25% of
Canadians will experience at least one mental health problem prior to age 19 years. The
diagnosis of a mental health condition increased the likelihood of a second episode or chronic
disorder therefore leading to potential barriers for school completion, employment preparation,
independent living and healthy relationships. Unfortunately,
added to this burden of disease is delayed diagnosis and lack of access to treatment. Mental
illness is associated with increased risks of other health problems like chronic cardio-vascular
disease and poorly controlled type-II Diabetes. (Veale, Watson, Peter & Saewyc, 2017).
Psycho-social issues such as unemployment, incarceration and poverty are higher among
people with mental illness. There are poorer treatment outcomes often due to lack of resources in
among populations in rural and isolated communities, low socio-economic groups and people of
visible minorities. In the last 5 years, both provincial and federal agencies have provided funding

and resources to initiate strategies to reduce youth and child mental illness through prevention
and early treatment intervention. These projects often require a collaborative effort among health
care professionals, policy makes, educators, family services, parents and community
organizations. (Gandhi et al., 2016).
It is essential to recognize the impact that these factors have had in the lives of people
particularly the youths (Maras et al., 2015). Mental health is usually associated with increased
risks for health problems of the physical body including chronic diseases. Treatment of these
conditions include the general peer support, using supporting and employment (Hoare, Milton,
Foster & Allender, 2016).
According to Henderson et al. (2017), there has been a continuous trend of increasing
cases of anxiety and mood disorders among the youths which has consequentially affected their
normal operation and behavior. However, there are also existing gaps in mental health course of
action. For example, there is no federal department that is solely dedicated to health issues
regarding children and youths.
Youth mental health condition could impact lifetime prevalence of disease by making the
mentally ill subject to the disease they are suffering from. As a result, the independence is
limited and the youths are compelled to be independent because of their vulnerable state
MacDonald et al., 2015). In effect, family structure and function is negatively affected because
of dependency.
There is thus the need for introduction of new methods, strategies and care services to promote
wellness among the youths (Bennett et al., 2015). They include increasing collaboration between