Too few psychotherapy places for children
health
One million children across Austria suffer from mental health problems. During the CoV pandemic, psychosomatic illnesses have increased significantly. Therapy places are unlikely to be available at the moment.
The number of children dying from mental health problems has quintupled during the pandemic. Sleep disturbances, reactions or neurotic compulsions are common symptoms. In addition, as a result of the pandemic, there are currently hardly any therapy places available. Eating disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders have increased in children and adolescents since the pandemic began.
Acute station fully booked
In the psychosomatic department of the Salzburg Children’s Hospital, even the acute ward with 160 beds is fully booked for 6 months. Young people only get a place in a clinic if their lives are in danger. According to experts, the feeling of losing control during the pandemic is precisely what causes this form of mental disorders.
Expert: “Young people had no self-determination”
The Salzburg health psychologist Michaela Lindner says that one reason for the increase in problems among children and young people is that they can no longer determine anything themselves: “Framework conditions and rules were set from outside that did not correspond to their nature or their stage of development.”
Free psychotherapy
The Federal Government is providing 13 million euros to deal with the psychosocial consequences of the Covid 19 crisis among young people. Anyone who registers on the “Healthy Out of the Crisis” website WILL be reserved for free psychotherapy. Waiting time: an average of six to nine months.
Too few psychotherapy places for children
One million children across Austria suffer from mental health problems. During the CoV pandemic, psychosomatic illnesses have increased significantly. Therapy places are unlikely to be available at the moment.
Communication more important than ever
The Vice President of the Austrian Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Leonhard Thun-Hohenstein advises parents of affected children to introduce rituals at home. If children are feeling bad but do not want to communicate it, you can introduce a card system: red stands for “I’m feeling really bad”, blue means “I’m feeling bad” and the green card means “I’m fine”. “. This allows communication between parents and children to be maintained.
Parents should also ask their children what to do if the child is unwell. “Should you leave it alone or hold it in your arms – very simple things where children and young people notice that the adult is interested and wants to help me,” says Thun-Hohenstein.