News

Do you have children or youth in your clinical practice who have experienced trauma which is impacting their mental health? Check out the all NEW Compass Trauma toolkit for guidance with assessment, screening and treatment.

Explore the new toolkit here.

"This toolkit is designed to help care providers better understand how to engage in trauma-informed care and understand the health impacts of trauma among children and youth. 

Trauma is a complex but common mental health concern that can affect the emotional and physical wellbeing of children and youth. This Toolkit offers foundational information as well as concrete clinical tools and techniques to help clinicians address trauma-related concerns in their clinical practices." -Dr. Priya Watson, Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist

Connecting with the Compass Program just got easier! We're thrilled to present a one-page graphic that simplifies the program's key details and contact information. Designed for ultimate convenience, this printable easy-to-use resource can be placed by your phone or computer, ensuring that providers have essential information at their fingertips. 

Link to PDF

Are you on Twitter? Follow @KeltyCentre where you will find a monthly shout out from the Compass program on child & youth mental health resources, events, and opportunities to support your clinical practice.

Do you have child or youth patients with self-injurious behaviour (SIB)? Do these children and youth also have neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism and intellectual impairment? Check out the all NEW Compass SIB toolkit for assessment tools and management strategies for self-injurious behaviours.

Explore the new toolkit here.

Looking for additional resources on self-injurious behaviour? Check out the Compass webinar on SIB, Autism & Other Neurological Conditions.

Compass Team members were so pleased to speak and learn with BC School Counsellors during a recent three-part webinar series. The recordings from the Anxiety in Schools & Self-Injury, Depression & Suicide webinars are now available. The webinar slides are also available to view and print for future reference: Anxiety Slides and Self-Injury, Depression & Suicide slides. Thank you so much to all the school counsellors who joined us.

The recordings from the November-December Compass Connections Webinar Series on Somatization are now available for viewing:

1. Somatization in Pediatric Populations: Recording and Powerpoint Slides
2. Somatization: Communication Strategies: Recording and Powerpoint Slides
3. Somatization: Treatment Strategies: Recording and Powerpoint Slides

The scripts from the role play scenario is also available. The scripts highlight key clinical strategies to help reduce mistrust and confusion, deliver information about somatization, and introduce two key concepts in treatment - exploring emotions and optimizing functioning.

Thank you to everyone that joined us for this fantastic webinar series!

Welcome to the new Compass website! The new site aims to help providers across BC to better understand the Compass program, access a variety of resources on child and youth mental health and substance use that will be helpful in their practice, and to let you know about upcoming learning opportunities on child and youth mental health. We hope you enjoy exploring our new site!

Compass has been receiving many calls from providers supporting children and youth who are experiencing challenges with school attendance. If this is something you are encountering in your practice, feel free to call the Compass line for support and check out the following resources for tips and strategies:

1. Introduction to school avoidance

2. Managing School Avoidance in the Elementary Years

3. Building A Successful School Year in the High School Years

BCCH-UBC are investigating how Asian Canadian and White Canadian families make decisions about what treatment to pursue for their children and youth with ADHD. The hope is to help reduce the mental health service gap for Asian Canadian families. Each family will complete measures at 3 time points over a year.

Families are eligible for this study if their child/youth:

• has been assessed for ADHD within 2 months, and
• is between the ages of 6-18 years, and
• is of Asian decent, or
• is of western European descent

Referring Physicians Receive:

• With families' consent, BCCH-UBC will share with you individualized information about elevated scores on common comorbidities with ADHD that the child/youth is presenting with.
• Study results, including strategies physicians can use to connect Asian Canadian families with treatments they find acceptable.

Find the links to the promotional poster and scripts to share the research study with families here:

Contact the team:

• UBC peer lab director: Dr Amori Mikami mikami@psych.ubc.ca
• BCCH psychologist & investigator: Dr Janet Mah jmah@bcchr.ca

Child Health BC and BC Children’s Hospital have developed the Provincial Child and Youth Substance Intoxication and Withdrawal Guideline for Acute Care Settings to support providers to deliver standardized, developmentally appropriate, and culturally safe care. The focus of this document is to guide assessment, screening, and initiation of treatment and discharge planning for children and youth ages 10 to 18.99 years old who present to acute care settings with substance intoxication or acute withdrawal symptoms.

We are deeply saddened by impacts of wildfires during this season, particularly the recent example of the devastating wildfires in Northeastern British Columbia. The Compass Program is committed to the well-being and safety of our communities, especially during times of crisis. As the recent disaster and evacuation alerts in the Peace River Regional District highlight, there is urgent need for disaster preparedness and we want to ensure that you have access to the necessary resources for child and youth mental health support during these times.

Red Cross: Guide to Disaster Recovery for Parents & Caregivers

FNHA: Recognizing and Resolving Trauma in Children during Disasters

CMHA: Coping through a natural disaster emergency