Follow us on social networks:News saved in your profileGeorgina del Valle, child and adolescent psychologist.Depressive symptoms, eating disorders, self-harm... mental health problems in children and adolescents have seen a worrying increase in recent years.The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a worsening of the emotional health of the youngest, a fact that is of great concern to parents, experts and institutions.“The pandemic has been the perfect storm.It has been the spark that has triggered these problems in both children and adults and we must bear in mind that the longer we are living with the disorder, the more risk we have of it becoming aggravated or chronic”, explains the child and adolescent psychologist, Georgina del Farreras Valley.In one of the latest surveys of the Multidisciplinary Working Group on Mental Health in Children and Adolescents, which is made up of the main pediatric associations in Spain, it emerged that 95% of pediatricians are very concerned about this increase and also warned , that they do not have sufficient training to deal with these problems.“There needs to be more professionals in the field of mental health for both adults and children.The public system was already saturated before the pandemic.There are ratios of up to 17,000 patients for each psychologist”, explains Del Valle.“There are many families that need help and are not receiving it.As children we have more room for action, but the longer it takes to receive the necessary help, the worse, because pathological behaviors are incorporated that worsen the condition.Parents and schools do what they can with the tools they have and for this reason, the intervention of professionals is vital”, she adds.The pandemic has caused a worsening of the emotional health of children and adolescents.shutterstockThe Minister of Education and Vocational Training, Pilar Alegría, announced last April the creation of a Mental Health Plan in the educational system, which will be carried out in collaboration with the autonomous communities, and with which it is intended to "special importance" to teacher training by providing "tools" that "help them identify and act in these situations."“That there are psychologists in schools is very important because children and adolescents spend many hours there.If we had more professionals, even if only as observers in class, it would help us detect patterns, prevent and treat this type of disorder”, considers the psychologist, who highlights the importance of having a good coordination between parents, school and professionals to treat young people with mental health problems."If there is no good coordination, there is a greater risk that it will go wrong," she considers.In the appearance of this type of disorders there is an interaction between biological factors and environmental factors.It influences both the genetics of the person and the environment in which they live, therefore, it is important to work both with the boy or girl, and with their family."It is very important to do a good job with the parents, because on many occasions generating certain changes in them generates very positive changes in the children. Children are, on many occasions, a reflection of what happens at home, for What if a child sees frequent arguments between parents, or has very strict or permissive educational models, it can generate higher levels of anxiety. Working with the parents, the child's improvement is much more likely, "says Georgina.At this point, new technologies and the role they play in the development of children and adolescents also become vitally important."Before, when a boy or girl had a conflict or problem at school, it would end when they left. However, today with mobile phones and social networks this does not happen like that, because on many occasions the conflicts continue through of social networks and extend to the family and non-educational context. And this generates many problems", explains the psychologist.New technologies are playing an important role in the development of children.shutterstockIn fact, with the introduction of mobile phones we have more cases of cyberbullying through networks and addiction to the use of devices, as well as an increase in symptoms of anxiety and depression associated with the misuse of this technology.“It is necessary to have prevention programs and work with parents so that they have the tools to manage the use of technology at home in the best possible way.The mobile is a double-edged sword and parental control is necessary.At certain ages it is imperative that parents know what kind of pages and content their children have access to and if necessary they can sit down with them and do a review of these, "she recommends.Enjoy all the newsNews saved in your profileNews saved in your profileNews saved in your profileNews saved in your profile© Faro de Vigo, SA All rights reserved