Stigma blocking children from mental-health care

WESTERN BUREAU:

Nurse practitioner Tackaya Brown-Lawrence, who heads the St James Child and Adolescent Wellness Centre, says mental-health stigma remains a major barrier preventing children and adolescents from getting the care they need, and that health workers cannot simply wait for families to recognise mental-health problems and seek help.

According to Brown-Lawrence, the centre, which is located at 1 Humber Avenue in Montego Bay and opened its doors in 2024, has been taking mental-health education into schools, churches, communities, early-childhood institutions and other spaces to encourage parents to seek help for their children.

“With mental health, we have to do this strategy because we need to reduce the stigma that is associated with mental-health illness, so that mothers will take in the children and the adolescent for the care that they need,” Brown-Lawrence said while providing an assessment of the Western Regional Health Authority’s Family Health Review on Thursday.

“We know that if they are not taken care of now, we are in trouble later because we won’t have healthy minds to take care of us then,” she added.

Brown-Lawrence said the centre recorded a sharp increase in new clients, from a mere 10 in 2024 to 173 in 2025. She also said new-client visits rose from 16 to 538 over the similar period.

She attributed part of the increase to greater public awareness following an expansion in health-promotion activities, which rose from 10 in 2024 to 171 in 2025.

“We need to let the community be aware of what we have to offer so that they can buy into it,” she said. “Because there are times that we are selling things, but persons don’t really know what you are selling, so they are not coming for it.”

EARLY INTERVENTION

She said early intervention is critical, warning that untreated mental-health problems in childhood could create greater challenges later in life. The centre has partnered with the St James adolescent clinic team to conduct assessments in schools, identify problems and make referrals.

“We have to invite ourselves into spaces that we know we should be, but they don’t know that they need to reach out to us,” Brown-Lawrence said.

Brown-Lawrence also said the outreach is helping to reduce fear surrounding mental-health services.

“We are seeing that mental-health persons are now understanding a little better, and they are not afraid to come in somewhat when they are given their referral,” she said.

She strongly suggested that families become part of the intervention, noting that strained parent-child relationships can contribute to mental-health challenges.

“Sometimes the families, they are living together, but they don’t know how to interact well together. That will affect communication, and that will also lead to mental-health issues,” she added.

The centre plans to expand its specialised services, including an autism clinic, speech therapy and other multidisciplinary support, as it seeks to promote earlier intervention among children and adolescents.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com