Your impact on child and adolescent mental health

As we continue to see a rise in young people facing mental health challenges, our care teams at North York General (NYGH) are proud to provide them with the treatment and strategies to get on a healthy path, where they can pursue their dreams.

Donors are a central part of our patients and families’ experience. Because of philanthropy, we continue to transform our care spaces to ensure our young patients and their families undertake their healing journey in warm and inviting environments. We completed further renovations on the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Inpatient Unit and finalized plans for the next phase of Maddie’s Healing Garden at Phillips House, which will bring a beautiful and tranquil vision to fruition.

Here’s a snapshot of the impact donors have had last year on our Child and Adolescent Mental Health program:

Your impact on child and adolescent mental health

As we continue to see a rise in young people facing mental health challenges, our care teams at North York General (NYGH) we are proud to provide them with the treatment and strategies to get on a healthy path, where they can pursue their dreams

Here’s a snapshot of the impact donors have had last year on our Child and Adolescent Mental Health program:

By the numbers

It’s been another busy year in the program, with thousands of young people receiving care:

North York General In Person Patient Visits

7,963 outpatient mental health visits

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Inpatient Clinic at North York General Hospital

276 patients received mental health inpatient care, staying on average for 6 days

North York General Eating Disorder Treatment Program

3,752 outpatient eating disorder visits

93 patients received care for an eating disorder, staying on average for 16.3 days in hospital

As a Clinical Coordinator, Child Development & Counselling Unit at Phillip’s House, the home of child and adolescent outpatient mental health at NYGH, Adam works with youth and their families in assessment, crisis intervention, and treatment planning.

“Being a counsellor is incredibly rewarding. I have an opportunity to support patients and their families during challenging times. To see the youth that we work with learn tools to manage challenges and develop into individuals who are self-reliant is wonderful. As a counsellor, I also learn from my patients as well – about human nature, the capacity to overcome difficulty, and the ability to forgive.”

Adam
Clinical Coordinator, Child and Adolescent Mental Health

A year of change for mental health care

Upgrades to our inpatient unit – we undertook a second phase of the Child & Adolescent Mental Health Inpatient Unit renovation in 2023, including upgrading the older conference room and staff offices, so they match the bright and welcoming aesthetic of the rest of the space. The neutral colour scheme ensures these spaces are calm and inviting. Staff often use the offices for individual assessments and counselling, and the conference room for family meetings. The conference room now includes an audio-visual system to enable a larger group to attend the meeting virtually, such as specialists, community agency case representatives and family members who live at a distance from the hospital.

North York General Hospital Mental Health Care Program

New programming – the newer spaces have made way for new programs to be introduced. The mental health team has incorporated Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) into their treatment and they now run DBT skills groups regularly. Learning includes tangible skills that kids can use (such as mindfulness and meditation) to better cope with stressful situations when they return home.

Return to in-person visits – in 2023 over 80% of our outpatients’ mental health therapy sessions were in-person. All first appointments are conducted on site at Phillips House, which enables our counsellors to establish a better connection with patients, allows them to get to know the family, and supports clinical assessment of body language cues and facial expressions of patients, enabling them to provide more feedback about the patient’s mental health. We continue to tailor care according to patient/family preference and ease, with virtual care still available for those where transportation or distance is an issue.

“Today, my daughter’s love of learning and curiosity has returned. Now 14 years old and starting high school, she has the tools she needs to help maintain her mental health, and she can always come to me with any concerns. I also know that the team at NYGH are only a phone call away if needed. I’m so grateful to the Child & Adolescent Mental Health program at North York General. Without their help, we would have been in a very different place.”

A Grateful Mother

Meeting the high demand for eating disorder care

In 2023, the number of patients needing inpatient care for eating disorders remained high, and six of the 12 beds in the Steinberg Family Paediatric Centre continued to be used for this patient group. The isolation that young people experienced during COVID-19 and the pervasiveness of the unrealistic images on social media are still having a negative effect on young people.

Recognizing our significant role in providing eating disorder care to young people, last year we were able to increase resources with more inpatient and outpatient staff to meet the high demand for eating disorder care, including a full and part-time nurse, a full and part-time child and youth worker, a social worker, a dietician, and increased intake assistance and child-life specialist support.

“Your environment impacts your mood. When you walk into the Unit and see that it is bright and welcoming, it speaks to a state of mind and shows that we value these patients. We wanted to have a calm, soothing environment to promote healing.”

Jennifer Holmes-Haronitis
Clinical Team Manager, Child & Adolescent Mental Health and Adolescent Eating Disorders

Planting seeds for the next phase of Maddie’s Healing Garden

Plans are well underway for Phase 2 of Maddie’s Healing Garden, which will see a more fully landscaped garden come to fruition. This will include more colour and a refined space so it can more easily be used for therapeutic activities. Some of the new features we are considering include replanting the garden with colourful perennials, grasses and shrubs (such as lavender), and installing distanced benches around the walking pathway that staff and patients could use for outdoor therapy sessions.

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