Improving mental health outcomes for children who have experienced trauma

Investigators: Professor Helen Milroy, Dr Alix Woolard, Prof Ashleigh Lin, Dr Pradeep Rao, Ms Elmie Janse van Rensberg, Nicole Wickens and Lisa McGivern

Overview:  A major gap in tackling the mental health crisis in Western Australia is an inability to effectively treat children and young people with a history of trauma. There are a number of different types of trauma that can be experienced by children, including (but not limited to) child maltreatment, trauma from accidents (such as burn injuries or major accidents), stress following medical trauma and intergenerational trauma. The overall aim is to develop a program of research focused on childhood trauma that will lay down the foundation for evidenced-based, trauma informed clinical care to improve mental health outcomes for all WA children and their families.

Plain summary: The pathways to developing a mental illness for children and young people who have experienced a traumatic event is poorly understood. We aim to identify the risk factors and early warning signs for poor mental health following the experience of a traumatic event. We want to understand the pathways to mental illness in children and young people who experience trauma and how that manifests across different developmental stages. We also want to identify which interventions during or after childhood trauma can reduce the impact of mental health concerns later in life.

Funder: Channel 7 Telethon Trust