This website is intended to provide a free and comprehensive source of information for young people, parents and professionals about the range of mental health difficulties and disorders that may be encountered during childhood and adolescence.
Common mental health disorders and difficulties encountered during childhood and the teenage years include: ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder); anxiety and a range of related anxiety disorders ranging from simple phobias to social anxiety, generalised anxiety disorder and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder); autism and Asperger syndrome (the Autism Spectrum Disorders, or ASD); behavioural problems; bullying; depression; eating disorders (including anorexia nervosa and bulimia); obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD); psychotic disorders - and in particular schizophrenia; and substance abuse.
Child and adolescent mental health disorders are surprisingly common. They affect 10-20% of children and young people - with the most recent UK figure indicating that 10% of 5-16 year olds had a diagnosed mental health disorder (figure from the Office for National Statistics [ONS]), and the current US figure indicating that a mental illness occurs in 20% of US children during any given year (figure from the US Surgeon General).
Camh.org.uk provides information about all of the above areas of difficulty - and within each area we provide a list of support groups and organisations, links to online and downloadable information sheets, a list of recommended books for reading as well as a comprehensive list of other related links to other websites.
Please make your selection from the menus on the sides of this page to access the information resources.
If you prefer, you can alternatively browse the website from this sitemap.
At your convenience:
Medline
The British Medical Journal
The British Journal of Psychiatry
The Lancet
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