Abstract
This chapter explores strategies to engage and support families of children experiencing mental health challenges during the early elementary school years. A review of child risk and resilience factors and barriers common to family engagement with mental health care is provided alongside practice strategies, such as building empathy and rapport with families, to support early connection to needed services. Collaborative goal setting and education about interventions and support of interventions in the home setting are critical to engagement, facilitating the success of interventions. Critical issues and considerations associated with mental health-care access such as culture, health and social inequality, and social determinants of health are discussed. In the future, policy change to support family engagement and research to examine the impact of care engagement strategies will advance knowledge for engaging the family to promote child quality of life and well-being.
A Chapter Submitted to Family Engagement in Mental Health Interventions for Young Children
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Waid, J. (2023). Family Engagement in Mental Health Interventions in the Early Elementary School Years. In: Nabors, L., Bartlett, J.D. (eds) Family Engagement in Mental Health Interventions for Young Children. Springer Series on Child and Family Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-47917-5_3
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