Mental Health Care in Residential Children’s Homes: Definitions, Diagnosis and Alternatives to Diagnosis

Mental Health Care in Residential Children’s Homes: Definitions, Diagnosis and Alternatives to Diagnosis

This paper has been prepared in response to the ICHA Mental Health in Residential Children’s Homes meeting held in Birmingham on 29th November 2018. Three themes emerged during the morning part of the meeting: (1) definitions, diagnosis, and alternatives to a diagnosis-led framework for understanding mental health problems in children and young people; (2) training and awareness-raising about mental health for those working in children’s homes; and (3) education and awareness-raising about mental health for children’s homes’ commissioning services. The afternoon part of the meeting was devoted to small-group discussions focussed on each of the three themes.