engleski

Assessing the needs of professionals working with children and youth in clinical settings in Croatia

In order to successfully address the mental health needs of children and youth, professionals working with children and youth should have adequate knowledge and resources necessary to properly assess mental health problems. The level of knowledge and resources necessary to successfully address the state of mental health in children and youth in Croatia are limited and out of date. The focus of the project is on Croatian professionals working in clinical settings with children and youth, such as psychologists, psychiatrists, speech and occupational therapists, social workers, and pediatricians. Their preparation, in terms of adequate knowledge and resources, for the work with children and youth in this type of setting was never formally assessed. A needs assessment survey was distributed during the Summer 2004 to clinicians working with children and youth all over the country. The goal was to identify the level of knowledge already existing among these clinicians and to identify types of mental health problems that clinicians do not feel competent to work with. Determining unmet needs of these professionals and documenting the size and nature of this public issue will enable us to move toward the change in current programs and policies affecting the work of local mental health professionals.

child assessment; Croatia; mental health

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