We've not yet got as far as the USA yet where "pychiatrists instilled a mindset among the nation's educational institutions by indoctrinating them to be alert for children exhibiting signs of "potential delinquency" and to refer them for treatment. Such children are then segregated with labels such as "conduct disorder," "oppositional defiance disorder" or any number of other labels and treated with drugs in their schools or carted off to school-based health clinics or community mental health centers. These centers also treat members of the community at large and provide almost all of the mental health services for adult and juvenile offenders.""(http://www.freedommag.org/english/vol33I1/page02.htm)
I don';t think people's minds are like their bodies, and to assume they are means buying into the idea that there is a "perfect state" and that divergences from that are indicated of "poor mental health".
The NCH said it found the prevalence of emotional problems and conduct disorders had doubled since the 1990s, citing studies of 8,000 children.
But some experts cast doubt on the NCH's interpretation of the findings and its definition of a "disorder".
The final findings of the studies are due to be published later this year, when the NCH launches a major campaign.
Chicken or egg
The NCH defined an "emotionally well" child as one who demonstrates empathy, self-awareness, an ability to manage feelings, motivation and good social skills.
It based its conclusions that this wellbeing was deteriorating on three studies carried out in recent years.
The charity also carried out a survey "to test and compare our research findings with the experiences and views of the general public".
It found that the public believes emotional wellbeing is more important than family income, physical health, and IQ.
Clare Tickell, chief executive of the NCH, said: "The lack of emotional wellbeing amongst our children and young people is undermining the foundations of any social policy to combat social exclusion, deprivation or lack of social mobility."
But Professor Sue Bailey, Chair of the Child and Adolescent Faculty at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said all these issues were intertwined.
Poverty and exclusion, she said, were inextricably linked with the state of a child's wellbeing.
She added that she was familiar with the one in ten figure for mental health disorders, adding that this "was not new", but said it covered a range of problems - from the very minor to the very serious.
She backed a statement by the Children's Minister Beverley Hughes, who said that the available figures do not back up NCH claims that incidences of childhood depression are rising.
"In fact, they show that the prevalence of mental disorders among five to 16-year-olds in 2004 have remained broadly unchanged from the previous survey in 1999."
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