- Mental health issues have been increasingly brought to the fore by the pandemic. We want to support preventive work, and we want to do it in a way that supports the child or adolescent and their whole family, says Kati Ihamäki, OP Financial Group’s Head of Corporate Responsibility.
Up to 20% of children and adolescents are suffering from some degree of mental health disorders, and as many as 100,000 children and adolescents in Finland suffer from anxiety. Based on the school health survey that the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) published this autumn, anxiety in particular is highlighted as one of the key challenges burdening the lives of children and adolescents. There are also significant regional differences in mental healthcare, and it is impossible to guarantee equal and timely treatment for everyone.
- Feeling anxiety is part of life, but in an anxiety disorder, that feeling is easily stirred up or is constant or strong, and significantly inhibits a person’s ability to function. Anxiety disorders are often treated late. For example, in schools, there are no clear and easy ways to seek help. Currently, children are usually sent for specialist care, which always means a delay in treatment. Most children suffering from anxiety could be helped in schools and basic-level paediatric mental health services by employing the evidence-based and effective Cool Kids treatment method, says Head of Child Psychiatry and Head Physician Leena Repokari from HUS.
At the start of 2020, HUS, the Hospital District of Helsinki and Uusimaa, launched a programme with the support of Lastenklinikoiden Kummit ry as part of the Mielen tila campaign. In the programme, specialist care trains experts in the Cool Kids treatment programme all over Finland, and assists with adopting methods and tracking in basic services such as family counselling centres and schools. Thanks to Kummit ry’s campaign, 125 new method instructors have already been trained all over Finland.
- We are very grateful for the OP Financial Group’s impressive donation to an extremely topical cause to support the health of children and adolescents. Cool Kids is an effective, evidence-based treatment method for treating anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. According to research, approximately 60% of children and adolescents who have undergone a treatment process are no longer suffering from their primary anxiety disorder by the end of the treatment period. The treatment programme supports the child, as well as their entire family. Collaboration with OP Financial Group facilitates vital support for Finnish children and their families in mental health challenges. It also spreads crucial knowledge of treatment methods throughout the country, says Anu Rapeli, Executive Director of Lastenklinikoiden Kummit ry.