Review of the literature regarding early intervention for children and adolescents aged 0-15 experiencing a first-episode psychiatric disturbance.

Aim: The purpose of this review is to report on existing literature regarding children and adolescents younger than 16 years of age experiencing a first-episode psychiatric disturbance. Rather than providing a comprehensive list of service implications, this paper identifies some of the gaps in knowledge and practice to encourage ongoing analysis regarding better practices for early intervention for children and adolescents experiencing a first-episode psychiatric disturbance.

Methods: A search was conducted to identify key evidence-based literature published from 1985 to 2007 discussing various aspects of child and youth mental health in Canada, the USA, the UK, Australia and New Zealand.

Youth experiences of living with mental health problems: emergence, loss, adaptation and recovery (ELAR).

Current understanding of youth aged 15-24 experiencing mental health problems is limited. Through a qualitative analysis of the subjective experiences of 7 male and 6 female youths, 4 core categories emerged as stages that described the participants' process of mental illness: emergence, loss, adaptation, and recovery. Results showed that youth experiencing mental health problems felt stigmatized and labelled, and experienced multiple losses of identity, family, career choices, and educational and social standing.